Always and Forever and inbetween
by Ohsupernaturall
Summary: Nathan and Haley, in their epic journey of true love, sacrifice, loss, and hardships. This story follows their relationship through the episodes, the missing moments we may not have seen, their motives, desires and feelings, and a deeper look at stuff we haven't seen. All ships are canon: Naley, Brucas, Leyton, Brulian, Clinn... etc
1. Of beaded bracelets and snarky chicks

Chapter 1

Of beaded bracelets and snarky chicks

"To be understood is to prostitute oneself"  
— **Fernando Pessoa**

Song Muse "Just the girl by the click five"

The hierarchy was something to be reckoned upon in tree hill generally and tree hill high specifically; that was the reason Nathan Royal Scott, star shooting guard for the tree hill ravens, son of the infamous loaded Dan Scott and boyfriend of the ever popular cheerleader Peyton Sawyer felt entitled. That was of course before his illegitimate half-brother Lucas turned things around, securing himself a spot in Nathan's basketball team, and aiming for his girlfriend.

That was why he needed to bring Lucas down a notch or two, and that was where Haley James came into the picture.

Haley James was Lucas's best friend, has been since they were eight years old, and if she weren't Nathan probably would have never noticed- nor given her the time of day. She was an over achiever, with the best GPA in the school, a tutor to people doing less than well in school and an employee in Karen's café- Lucas mother's Cafe . In short, a nerd, so the idea of her and Nathan crossing paths was highly unlikely.

Until Nathan saw her with peripheral vision as he looked over at Lucas, the girl was so tiny; he felt as though she could fit into his pocket, with a smile too big for this world.

"Hey who is that girl he is always hanging out with?" Nathan asked his own best friend and sidekick Tim.

"Who knows? Why you feel like slumming?" said Tim jokingly, Nathan scrunched up his nose in mock indignation and shoved Tim playfully- as if that would ever happen.

Still his father's words rang in his head 'If someone isn't on his side then they are his opponent, the only way to deal with an opponent is to identify their weaknesses and attack them'

Nathan fully intended to exploit Lucas' weak points. He followed Tim to their next class.

###

Haley was walking out of the tutor center when she heard someone whispering her name loudly. She stopped dead in her tracks, school was deserted; students had gone home but she stayed later than usual to go through some notes, she had prepared for a D+ student she was tutoring.

"Psst, Hales!" the voice called again and she looked around.

Lucas' head was peeking out the door of an empty classroom.

"Luke?"

"I need help" said Lucas through gritted teeth.

She moved closer "Wow! Wow! Damn it Lucas. My eyes! What happened?"

Her friend was stark naked, aside from two basketballs giving him some coverage. He looked absolutely pissed. "What do you think happened? Guess who took my clothes in the locker room?"

She sighed loudly; Nathan Scott was the epitome of scum.

"Well?"

"Well what?" Haley asked confused.

"I need clothes!"

"I would be very happy to help you Luke, but I am still wearing mine, and I don't think they would even fit you"

"Very funny" Lucas dead-panned "just help"

He pushed himself back into the classroom and shut the door.

"So how exactly did that happen?" Haley asked fifteen minutes later, she had run to his house, grabbed something for him to wear and returned to school in record timing

"I took some extra time in the shower" Lucas explained as they walked away together "I came out and all my clothes were gone"

"Enter your savior" she said, giving a fake courtesy.

Lucas chuckled, throwing an arm around Haley. "Well, your damsel in distress is eternally grateful"

###

The tutor center was a place Nathan hasn't gone to before, but there he was; a paper assigning Haley to be his tutor in his hand. When he signed up, there had been four other tutors available to help him, but he insisted on Haley. That way he was hitting two birds with one stone; first, he actually did need assistance with his grades, if he didn't improve, he would end up working in his father's dealership, and second, he would be messing with Lucas big time and that was the best part.

"Hey!" Nathan smiled sweetly as he walked through the door, moving closer to Haley didn't make her seem any bigger.

Haley stared in what seemed to be confusion and resentment for a split second, before asking "Can I help you?"

"I hope so, you are my tutor"

She eyed him from head to foot before laughing cynically and looking away "Right! I don't think so"

"You are Haley James, right?" He confirmed, looking down at the paper in his hand. Haley was quick to grab it, huffing in annoyance, and then she saw her name. Perfect, that was just perfect. She was already doing all she could to be a professional and not tell him off for what he was doing to Lucas.

"I am sorry" said Haley "I am best friends with Lucas"

"Well then I am sorry too" joked Nathan.

"Forget it, I will find you someone else" said Haley dismissively.

She attempted to step out when Nathan's lean form blocked her way "Whoa! Whoa! Look! Look! There is nobody else; I would be fine with it if there was"

"If there were" corrected Haley.

"See you are helping me already"

"Look I can't help you and on top of that I won't help you, okay?"

Haley quickly walked away but not before spotting a confused frown crossing his face. He was flabbergasted in fact; it usually took him a much lesser dose of puppy-dog eyes to get what he wanted from a girl.

"Wait" he chased after her and had barely grabbed her arm, before she jerked it away from him, quickly he raised a hand "Sorry, sorry, look I don't understand"

"Then you do need help, because I made myself loud and clear, I will not help you"

"But Ms. whatever her name is, told me you were available to tutor me"

"Ms. Mckee" she rolled her eyes.

"Right"

"I never said that I didn't have time. I said I refuse to help you" she spoke every word slowly as though he were an idiot.

"Why?"

"Why?!" she looked at him in disbelief "How about I make your life miserable in every single way possible, and then you will know why!"

"I don't even know you"

"Yes, but I know Lucas, and I know what you did to him in the locker room"

Nathan stifled a laugh, she flared her nose "and see there it is, now, excuse me, I need to go"

"No, wait" his face turned serious "Sorry, I just…"

But she was already out the door.

Agitated by his very presence, Haley was thankful the day was over, she all but stomped her way home. He was a major-insufferable-up to no good- jerk and he had every word she said coming, strutting around like he owned the world. Figured he was Dan Scott's son, though underneath the façade Haley could almost spot remnants of a human being, she almost felt bad; actually she felt terrible; so terrible that her heart ached. Something about him seemed so innocent, young even; she guessed that if he were to murder someone, convicting him was highly unlikely. After all who could suspect the charming boy with bright blue eyes and a coy smile?

"No" she whispered to herself.

On the other hand, Nathan was still scratching his head in confusion; never has any girl talked to him that way, even before his rapid rise to popularity, girls seemed to take an interest in him, he found that out at fourteen when a smoking hot senior, Taylor, pulled him into his room at his parent's beach house and slept with him, he hadn't even initiated it. In fact, as he remembered it, he was incredibly nervous, but that seemed to make him even more desirable, adding to the fact that it was also a party held in honor of him joining the varsity team; that was an epic night.

Then there was Peyton, he got to know her shortly after and they talked a lot, soon enough he asked her to be his girlfriend, and they were happy, ' _were'_ being the keyword. She was too much, always irritable, cranky and melancholic, so what if he hung out with his friends? She didn't expect him to devote every waking moment to her. As well as the fact that she was crushing on Lucas, that on its own made his blood boil, she was _his_ girlfriend. During their latest fight they were in his car and she was acting like a total bitch, she threw a fit and decided to walk home; in a beat Nathan threw her pompoms out the window and left her on the side of the street. Sure they were alright now, as alright as it can get anyway, he likes Peyton, she is his girl and the sex is amazing but if she was going to be like that, then he didn't need the added drama. Which brought him back to Haley, he actually felt ashamed at being scorned by her, he knew he should have retorted, but something about her demanded his respect and he was willing to give it to her; that was new.

###

"You wanted to see me, Mr. Kelly"

"Yes, please, come in Mr. Scott" the teacher peered at him over his glasses.

Nathan moved closer standing at the teacher's desk, a test held tightly in his hand with a big 'F' marked boldly in red.

"So, if this is about my grade…"

"Yes, Mr. Scott, it is in fact about your grade, I assume you are aware that you need to maintain a certain grade point average to be able to participate in any athletic activities"

Nathan rolled his eyes, and spoke through gritted teeth "Yes"

"And you are falling behind, I am afraid you might not be able to play basketball anymore if you don't turn it around"

"I know" Nathan said annoyed.

"Perhaps you could try tutoring; we have some fine students who are more than willing to help"

He didn't attempt to even hide his sneer.

The teacher sighed and spoke softly "Listen, Nathan, I know that a young man in your position might find it embarrassing to ask for help, but it beats the alternative, that is if you want to keep your position on the team. You do want that don't you?"

Nathan nodded briefly.

"Then I think you should go to the tutor center right away, it is the seventh room on your left" he pointed out the door. Nathan grabbed his test, and made for the door.

"If you could" Mr. Kelly interrupted, making him turn around "see if Miss Haley James is available to tutor you, she is quite promising and I am not supposed to show favoritism, but I must admit, she is the best"

Without a word, Nathan clenched his jaw and headed to the tutor center. Not only did Lucas take his spot as shooting guard on the team and his girlfriend's affections, he was indirectly stealing his entire basketball future all together.

"Hey" Nathan walked in with a melancholic expression "I just wanted to let you know I will be fine"

"Great" responded Haley, carelessly.

"I mean F is for fine, right?"

He lifted his test briefly to show her the grade before turning around and walking away. Haley could only stare after him mouth agape in shock, she stood that way a little, before rolling her eyes and shrugging, what was she supposed to do?

 _"You could tutor him"_ a small voice in her head whispered. But she pushed that thought away quickly, it didn't matter how sincere he looked.

###

He highly doubted that there would never be a sound that aggravated him more than his father talking to him about basketball. Nathan loved the game, the rush and the crowd's adoration, but when it came to Dan Scott, everything between him and his son was about sports, whether it be his next game, his faulty (according to his father) techniques or how unlikely it was to beat the older man's score from when he was in high school. Nathan was sure he could do it, but it really hurt his feelings that his dad seemed to think so little of him.

"So how did it go?" Dan Scott asked "with practice"

Nathan shrugged "I am small forward"

"And what did you do about that?"

"What do you want me to do dad?"

"I told you, I want you to eliminate the competition" Dan stated firmly.

"You mean your son?" said Nathan venomously.

"Don't call him that"

"I am going upstairs" he said quietly, walking out of the room. His father already had too many high hopes on him being the star athlete, he would go insane if he were to know that Nathan might have to be forced to leave the team because of grades all together, that was a school rule and even Dan would have a hard time switching it around in their favor like he does.

He drew a shuddering breath as he laid down on the couch, picking up the phone, Haley's number was inscribed on the paper where she had been assigned as his tutor, it was Karen café's number, where she worked, she had thought it useless to use her house number since she was hardly there unless at late hours of the night when people shouldn't even be calling. It rang a couple of times before she picked up.

"Karen's café" she answered.

"I am calling for Haley James"

"Yeah, this is her"

"Hey! It's Nathan Scott" he sighed, Nathan had planned to apologize for whatever he had done, and to ask her for help once again, perhaps this time she would be yielding "I really need your help"

"Sorry, this isn't her"

She hung up the phone on him quickly, not even allowing him to get a word in edgewise. Nathan put the phone down dejected, she had turned him down too many times so far, yet, he continued allowing himself be treated like a doormat. Heck, he wasn't proud of it but he was sure he would try again.

"What was that?" Karen, who was standing at the cash register, asked her.

"Uh, wrong number" improvised Haley.

"But you just said 'this was her'. Did you forget your name?"

Haley chuckled softly, hoping they could avert from the subject, however she still felt Karen's eyes bore into the back of her head.

"What's up?"

The girl turned around, struggling to find the proper words to explain, 'the son of your ex-husband (the one who abandoned you and your child) is asking me to tutor him, oh and by the by, he has been bullying Lucas relentlessly. However now I am on the edge of caving and agreeing to it because he has a distressed quality that is tugging on my heartstrings' didn't seem proper, so instead she said "This…guy… wants me to tutor him and I said no 'cause he is kind of a bad guy"

Karen raised her eyebrows "You know him?"

Haley was silent for a beat, feeling slightly ashamed "Not really, I just know of him" she answered, avoiding Karen's gaze, by pretending to clean the counter.

"Dangerous?" pushed Karen.

"No" said Haley, curling her lips and trying to act nonchalant, she caught Karen with a skeptical expression "What you got that look?"

"What look?" asked Karen, playing dumb.

"The look that my mom always gets when she wants to throw her two cents in, What?" replied Haley sheepishly, gesturing for an explanation.

"Well, Haley, I think you have pretty good instincts. I am not trying to tell you what to do" Which meant she was "but just to play devil's advocate, if this boy came for tutoring, maybe he's trying to change"

Haley opened her mouth for a second, unable to find counter words, she sighed heavily; her logic had been defeated. Karen moved closer, placed two cents on the counter and said "Might be something in there worth saving" before walking away.

They younger girl, bit her lips uncertainly, the idea of saving Nathan Scott in anyway seemed farfetched.

###

It was a beautiful day, the sun shone brighter than ever, birds were chirping, and a gentle breeze ruffled the tree leaves around her. Yet, Haley sat fuming. She had her first tutoring session with Nathan, having finally agreed to doing it the night prior, right after he kidnapped Lucas to humiliate him and throw his phone away, and she loved Luke, he was like a brother to her, even more so than her actual brothers, so after a few tears, she went over to Nathan's house and decided to stop him once and for all; her way. When he answered the door, he was definitely surprised to see her, it even came more as a shock when she told him she would tutor him, Nathan was absolutely sure she wouldn't after Lucas told her. So, he was more than gleeful, even readily accepting her two conditions; first, Lucas doesn't know, and second, he leaves him alone. Both seemed like a fair price, and he was more than happy to pay. As she left, Nathan stood there watching her for a few seconds, a sincere smile on his face, she was kind of cute.

Haley had the textbooks already out as she fidgeted on the bench, most of her sessions took place in school, but due to the anonymity of the situation, she had told him to meet her at the dock, _take it or leave it._

"Breakfast of champions; want some?" said Nathan as he walked up to her and placed two cups of latte and a box of cracker jack on the table.

"You are late" Haley didn't spare him a glance as he sat down.

He tore into the box of snacks, fishing for the prize and said "Oh! Please let this be a cheat sheet". Instead he pulled out a plastic beaded colorful bracelet, the kind she used to make with her mother and sisters when she was five. Nathan looked between her and the bracelet a few times hesitantly, then smiled shyly and declared "It's for you"

"Stop it, it's just…"

"Come on" he interrupted, sliding the bracelet on her hand smoothly "Don't say I never gave you anything"

He looked too pleased with himself, and Haley grabbed a textbook "Do you see this book? Because this book is me, I am math"

"What's that supposed to mean?" he still smiled.

"It's supposed to mean, you can work your whole, I am Nathan Scott, Mr. big shot, scoring my touchdowns on somebody else, because I don't think.."

"I don't even play football" he said ludicrously.

"Whatever" she replied dismissing him "at the end of the day all your bluster and BS don't mean anything to Math, because Math don't care and neither do I"

"Well, does English care? Because I really suck at that too"

"Please don't waste my time" she spoke as patiently as she could muster "I am already taking a huge chance on you because my instincts are screaming that you are full of sh…"

Nathan stifled a smile, looking down and nodding his head, trying to keep on a serious mature facial expression.

"Let's just get started, okay?" suggested Haley in the most patient way she could muster, and he smiled again, his blue eyes gleaming "Page 81"

No sooner had Nathan looked at the book that Haley had to stifle her own laugh, his nose scrunched up in total confusion, as he read the problem out loud, frowning deeper with each word. "A class average mark in an exam is 70. The average of students who scored below 60 is 50. The average of students who scored 60 or more is 75. If the total number of students in this class is 20, how many students scored below?"

Haley was waiting for him to finish when he looked up and said "You know if I understood any of this, we wouldn't be here right now"

She huffed out a laugh, reaching for her pencil, as she slowly explained the problem, eliciting theories he could remember and offering up the ones he couldn't. Turned out, Nathan was actually quite smart, just needed to understand every step before he could be convinced to answer and it only took them around half an hour before he was answering summation notation problems mostly on his own. The way his face lit up with joy, actually made her smile sincerely, as he took on another problem without her asking.

Soon enough they were talking, though at first shortly and formally on her side at least, she found he armor breaking slightly and caught herself enjoying his company, his playful attitude made her laugh a few times. After they were done, he looked up at her and smiled brightly, this time, she smiled back.

"Thank you, Haley, really."

She nodded curtly, collecting her things "I will see you next time then"

"Whoa! Whoa! Wait" he got up hurriedly "There was no way; I could solve whatever gibberish was in that book"

Haley cocked an eyebrow "and?" she asked suspiciously.

"And I am buying you ice cream"

"Nathan…" she sighed.

"Look it isn't just for you, I like ice-cream and we have to celebrate this milestone, plus the fact that we have been together for two hours and you haven't screamed at me" his eyes were practically dancing and she chortled at his barely contained excitement, agreeing to one scoop before they parted ways.

"So how long have you been at tree hill high?"

"All my life" she laughed.

Nathan frowned, racking his brain; he whispered "Why can't I remember you?"

Haley raised her eyebrows in disbelief, though still smiling "Wow! Nathan Scott didn't know who I was? My mediocre reputation has been compromised"

He swiftly corrected "No, No, I didn't mean it like that, I swear, I just meant that…" he caught Haley staring at him with eyes narrowed mockingly "I should just stop talking before I make a total ass of myself"

"Good idea"

They arrived at a nearby ice cream parlor in silence, she saw Nathan digging for his wallet and asking her "What do you want?"

"It's okay, I will pay" she rolled her eyes "You already got me breakfast and the bracelet.

"Who invited who for ice-cream?" he asked bewildered.

"Fine" Haley sighed "mint chocolate chip"

"Cone?"

"Waffle"

"Excuse me, two mint chocolate chip ice-creams, waffle cones" he handed the man the money, and grabbed the cones as soon as the man scooped the ice-cream "There you go"

"Thank you" said Haley, savoring her treat, and making satisfied sounds "mmm, mint chocolate chip is heavenly"

"Yes it is" he whispered inaudibly, staring at her with a gleam in his eyes

"What are you looking at?" she snapped him out of his thoughts, jokingly, she had finished her entire cone in record timing "That is the only proper way to eat mint chocolate chip ice cream"

"You want mine" he offered, dangling half his eaten cone, in front of her face.

"Nah! it's okay" she said, clearly wanting it.

"Here, I saved it for you"

"I couldn't"

"I want you to have it"

He chuckled, when she grabbed it suddenly, saying a quick thank you and shoving her face in it.

They said goodbye shortly afterwards and parted ways. As Haley walked home, she felt a tiny trickle of melted ice cream on the corner of her lips, wiping it away, she caught a whiff of the earthy sandalwood scent of Nathan's cologne, still lingering faintly on her new bracelet, she wouldn't admit it but she smelled it all the way there, and a little after that.


	2. Of beach house parties & evolving drama

Chapter 2

Of beach house parties and evolving drama

 **Note: Thank you so much for everyone who left their lovely reviews, I am actually not committed at all, so I hope I don't flake out on this, so far I am passionate, please note, this fic is written in third person but its from Naley's pov, so if a character doesn't come out great, it's a point of view, not the actual truth, I also have real trouble with Nathan's emotions, he turned from an A-class jerk to the sweetest man and I am trying to show his thought pattern as to make sense of the transition, I hope it worked, looking forward to your opinions.**

"We are not mad. We are want to love, and someone must forgive us for the paths we take to love, for the paths are many and dark, and we are ardent and cruel in our journey."  
— **Leonard Cohen**

Song muse "Nine crimes by Damien Rice"

For the life of her, Haley, couldn't fathom what she was doing. She had been so guilt-ridden about keeping the fact of tutoring Nathan from Lucas, but decided it was for the best. They after all despised each other, but when Lucas told her Nathan invited him to a team's party at his parents' beach house, Haley didn't know what to think, on the one hand, she was proud that Nathan was not only keeping up his end of the deal, but he was also being civilized towards him, however on the other hand, she wasn't sure the fact that the three of them together in one place was such a good idea; ever since Lucas had asked her to come, she was apprehensive, she knew Nathan wouldn't risk their tutoring sessions, his entire athletic future depended on them but she was also positive he wasn't a big fan of Lucas either.

"The guy has kidnapped you, trashed your court and threatened you with bodily harm. Party, yeah, sure, why not?" Haley sniped on their way over there.

Lucas looked ahead at the road, determined "Ok, listen, I know its all set up, alright? But I am not gonna let him screw with me, whatever he dishes out, he is gonna get back, double."

Beneath that brash exterior Haley was positive Nathan has a good heart, their tutoring sessions proved it, she had seen it firsthand, unwilling to confess it; she cast her eyes down and softly asked "do you think, maybe, just maybe, he has had a change of heart?"

"Requires a heart" he sneered.

Haley became silent, her stomach sinking, she couldn't think of a counter argument that wouldn't look suspicious, like she was trying to defend Nathan instead of looking out for her best friend.

They arrived in the beaten down tow truck to a lavish house overlooking the beach, the biggest one all around, in fact it was the size of two regular beach houses merged together, with fairy lights entwined in the front porch railing. The guest of honor was with his girlfriend Peyton, her best friend; captain of the cheerleaders, Brooke and his dimwitted sidekick, Tim.

When Nathan approached the both of them, Haley looked down to the ground, pretending not to know him.

"I wasn't sure you would come"

"Makes two of us" responded Lucas

"Hi!" Nathan came closer, hovering over her and extended his hand, her eyes widened and her mouth parted in shock "I am Nathan Scott"

It took her two seconds exactly, to close her gaping mouth and unfreeze, she played along, shaking his hand "Yeah, I know, I am Haley"

"I know" he winked, much too obviously, who winks with their whole face? Haley stifled a moan, Idiot!

Inside the house, everything must have cost a fortune; the elegant décor, the perplexing artwork on the walls and the pretentious plastic palm trees in every corner. Haley let out an impressed whistle "well I bet their plumbing works" she said to Lucas, who had to rinse his hair out that morning with a jug of water. He sneered.

"Just saying" she smiled, rolling her eyes.

"Thanks."

"Yeah"

###

The music playing had an annoyingly steady beat, as she and Lucas toured the house, almost getting lost twice in the process.

"So, I know that you are like, having the time of your life, but can we please make like a tree and get out of here"

The setting wasn't what she was used to, that was the first party she has ever been to; well first high school party held by the jocks, she did go to a party held by Junk and Fergie, although it was only her, Lucas and three other friends- excluding Junk and Fergie.

"We just got here" he said.

"Whatever" she shook her head in exasperation, he was insufferable at times "You let me know when you proved your point, I am gonna go to one of the eighteen bathrooms in this place"

"Be back in five?"

"Yep"

But Haley didn't exactly need to go to the bathroom. She was just looking for an excuse to step away from the noise and the people she wasn't familiar with. She went upstairs, looking for a section in the house that wasn't occupied with such a racket. Resting her back against the wall, Haley closed her eyes for a second; relaxing, when she heard chatter from a room at the end of the hall. A man and a woman, she could tell. She tip toed closer, curiosity getting the best of her, their voices became clearer.

"Well he is holding up considering Whitey's moved him out of his position, but it's probably temporary."

"I asked you, how he is, not how he is playing?" the woman said, there was awkward silence before she continued "must be confusing for him, with Lucas on the team now, were we gonna talk about that?"

Haley's brow furrowed, they were talking about Nathan, and so those must be his parents.

"I think that is probably temporary too"

"You think or you wish?"

Haley sneered, that was Dan Scott, how charitable of him to be so considerate of his son's feelings; she wasn't even sure which son she was thinking about at the moment.

The woman continued "I saw Karen at the game tonight, but then I have never really spoken to her…"

"I know this is hard on you, Deb"

"No, not really, I think it's harder for you and Nathan"

There was uncomfortable silence where Haley thought she should slip away, either of them could walk out any moment and catch her eavesdropping, she backed away slowly, about to go downstairs again, when she noticed several photos hung on the wall of another room, through the door. Unable to help herself Haley walked in. Looking at them one by one; it was the Scott family. The first one was of a three year old Nathan; or so he looked, eyes squinting in the sun of a park with a tiny basketball held in his chubby hands, Haley chuckled; it was adorable. Then there was one of toddler Nathan cheeks squished up as both his parents gave him slobbery kisses. Haley's hand went to her heart in awe. The third picture was Nathan and his mother; at least as Haley guessed it, he was around fourteen, his face much less round and chubby, they had their arms around each other and were beaming with pride. Before Haley could have a look at the rest, someone clearing their throat at the door startled her and she jumped up, hands clutching her heart.

"Can I help you?"

It was the woman in the pictures; she stood there with an expectant look, arms crossed to her chest and a brow cocked.

"Uh-um sorry, bathroom" stammered Haley.

The woman stared at her for a second and said "Downstairs, second door on the right"

Haley nodded quickly, looking down and maneuvered her way out of the room. She could feel Mrs. Scott eyes still on her, so she thought it better if she went to the bathroom. Haley locked the door behind her and sat at the edge of the tub.

So far in her life, she had seen things from Lucas' perspective, as the child abandoned by his father in favor of another son, as the brother of a bully who only cared about himself. But she didn't think about what it was like being Nathan Scott, living in his father's idea of a perfect life, constantly reproved and pressured into being what everyone expected him to be, with Dan pitting him against his brother, feeding him lies on how worthless Lucas is. It wasn't like children are born with malicious thoughts, he was probably taught from a very young age how his older brother was a hurdle in his path. His mother was right; the fact that Lucas had made his way into the team, and even took his position must have been confusing to Nathan; even downright scary. All in all, Nathan wasn't a bad guy, just a really confused kid.

Someone attempting to open the door snapped her out of her thoughts "Hang on a minute" she called, flushing the toilet for good measure and walked out.

"Sorry" Haley said sheepishly, walking away from Peyton.

"How is the tutoring going?" Haley turned around, and the blonde continued "you are tutoring Nathan, right?"

Haley waited a little in uncomfortable silence before Peyton reassured "its okay he tells me everything"

"Yeah, he said he needed some help" she shrugged casually.

"Maybe you can teach him to stop being such a jackass"

"I will put that on the lesson plan" Haley joked, though it was her intent.

"Just be careful, okay?"

Haley felt her heart sink, but dismissively said "Yeah, sure."

She had almost turned away when Peyton asked "Does Lucas know you are helping Nathan?"

The shorter girl responded with an affronted laugh.

"You know?" Peyton moved a few steps back "You say a lot when you keep your mouth shut"

"Um…"

"It's okay, I keep mine shut too" with that remark she got into the bathroom, leaving Haley feeling queasy.

There were more family photos of the Scott's downstairs, between many basketball awards and trophies, a place of honor it must be. In those photos however, Nathan was a grown up, with his parents, she picked up one of his and his parents; all of them flexing their muscles and smiling. When she looked up, Lucas was standing across from her, his hand knocked one of the photos down, his face showing a mixture of anger and pain.

Uh oh, that wasn't good "What happened?"

"Ah, same old crap" emphasized Lucas "he thinks if he keeps hammering me I will quit the team"

"Uhh" sighed Haley, sick of it all "What did he do this time?"

"He made some feeble comments"

"That is just perfect, Nathan!" Haley thought angrily, as Lucas continued "I am not going to let him get to me"

"Yeah, obviously that is working out for you" Haley smiled mockingly, and Luke couldn't stop himself from smiling either.

"Luke, have you guys ever actually talked?" she tried.

"Yeah, sure we trade emails too" he looked at her as though she had lost her mind.

"I am saying, you are so hypersensitive around each other. And, I get it, I just think that maybe everything he says, you take the wrong way. And vice versa"

"Ok there is no misunderstanding what he says, and why are you defending him" Lucas snapped, his voice lowering at the end.

"I- I am just- I am trying to bring some perspective" stammered Haley, flustered "I mean, it's a really screwy situation and I am sure having him around isn't any easier for him then it is for you and I think maybe if you guys can just tal…"

Lucas interrupted "Please tell me I am not hearing this"

Haley stared at him daringly, her eyebrows were up and her tongue pressed against her cheek, he needed to be called out "then what are you doing here, Lucas? Obviously you are looking for something, right?"

His nose flared "I am not gonna let him win"

She turned away, utterly disappointed before she turned back to face him again "Fine, don't let him win, I am gonna go home"

"Haley" he whined as she walked away.

"Nope" she dismissed him in contempt. _Why was Lucas acting that way? It was so unlike him._

A voice asked behind her "Are you leaving?"

Haley turned to look, it was the man of the hour himself, and she whispered sternly "Nathan, we had a deal, you promised you were gonna be nice"

"I am nice, I invited him to the stinking party, didn't I?" he gritted his teeth in frustration.

"What for, so you can pick on him in public?" returned Haley, and Nathan's brows rushed together in a frown "What did you say anyway?"

"Oh, Man! Is that what… I made a lame joke" he explained, an innocent expression on his face, Haley was yet to determine whether or not it was sincere "I mean, the guys, sometimes we get raw with each other. I was just trying to include him; he took it the wrong way"

"You may need to rethink your approach"

"Well you are his friend; how do I handle this?"

"It's easy stop being such a…" she hesitated before whispering "jerk"

Nathan seemed crestfallen a little, as Haley walked away. A knot formed in the pit of his stomach. He expected her to be upset, heck, Peyton was upset, and so was everyone at that table when he made fun of Lucas. But hers stung the most. Her words replayed in his head for a while… _jerk, jerk, jerk_ … His annoyance had turned to shame then full on rage, as he took a few steps and noticed Lucas kneel in front of Peyton outside; on _his_ porch.

He turned back from the window, after he had run to Haley like a little bitch and tattled, he started hitting on Peyton. Nathan wanted to wring his neck.

Their video tapes were scattered all over the ground, around Tim, who looked about ready to give up. "Nathan, I can't believe your parents don't have any decent porn"

Nathan remembered something; a way to louse up Lucas' evening like he did for him, he was being polite actually, Lucas was messing with his entire life, he walked up to the VCR and said "Wait. I got something" pulling a tape from the cupboard and handing it to Tim "put that in"

"What is it?" asked Johnny from behind him.

"It's a comedy" Nathan smirked. Before they played the tape, Nathan scanned the room, to make sure Haley hadn't returned or anything.

The video was of his father and Karen Roe, the night they were crowned snowball court king and queen. Nathan found it amusing; the process of Lucas becoming a bastard.

"Karen, what's the secret to your success?" a woman on tv asked.

He caught sight of Lucas entering hurriedly and cocked an eyebrow cheekily.

"The secret to our success, I don't know. Dan?" answered Karen and Nathan smirked, looking at Lucas as long as he could; relishing in his pain, Nathan felt satisfaction as he looked back at a younger version of his father, saying "Good sex"

Nathan chuckled as he looked back at his half-brother, who was at loss for words.

"Karen, do you think you will get married?"

"Do I think Dan and I will get married?" responded Karen, smiling "Hmm, who knows I mean.."

Their voices were drowned out by Brooke piping in "oh my God, the hair!" she laughed, soon everyone followed and Nathan stood up straighter at the dejected sight of Lucas.

"He really is the sweetest guy in the whole world" Karen continued, and Lucas stood unblinking "so I am thinking, yes, come visit us in ten years, and I bet you can meet the kids and get a tour of our big house, and see how happy we are"

That was enough for Lucas whose eyes were already watering, he could take what Nathan dished out, but bringing his mother into this, knowing that at some point she had her dreams and fantasies of a perfect life that were broken up by Dan Scott.

"Who's the girl?" someone asked.

"It's my mum" whispered Lucas

"At least dreams came true for one of them"

"Except for the happy part, right?" jabbed Lucas, however Nathan just smiled smugly, clearly feeling victorious. When the tape ended, Lucas charged at Nathan, pushing him roughly against a wall before walking away. Nathan cackled with Tim, but nobody else joined them, as a matter of fact it seemed like people were now shocked by the whole ordeal. When he looked at Peyton, her eyes held contempt, and his smile faded, _she didn't get it. Nobody did._

"That was awesome, man" said Tim, and Nathan put on a bogus smile again, fist bumping his best friend. Everyone's eyes were burning holes in him and he waited a couple of minutes before they turned back to their activities, mostly with disappointed shakes of their heads. Nathan swallowed a lump that had formed in his throat as he headed to out of the house, looking for fresh air.

The sudden sense of loneliness surrounded him; Nathan closed his eyes for a second, and clenched his jaw, hoping to dull the pounding ache in his heart. He himself didn't know how it happened, but he knew that one second, everyone was falling at his feet in worship, the next they despised every move he made, he was slowly becoming his father and soon enough nothing would stop him from achieving his dream, it wouldn't matter how many necks he stepped on. Nathan shuddered; becoming his father might have been one of his worst nightmares. _Jerk._ He heard Haley's voice in his head again, and Nathan willed it away, she was absolutely right. He deserved it and more. Then another wave of guilt hit him, once he and Haley actually sat down and talked, she was gentle and understanding, she didn't judge him for who he was, in fact when she had called him a jerk earlier, Nathan saw more care in her eyes, than he ever saw from any of his friends. She was amazing, and he was taking advantage of it, her heart was pure, he really wished it wasn't, because he knew in his soul that hurting Haley in any form was not only out of the question, but an unbearable thought.

Nathan took in his surroundings; the ocean was as obsidian black as the starless sky, making it impossible to see a horizon, a fresh breeze carried the smell of the ocean right over to him and over on the dock he could see Haley standing. His spirits already lifted. Nathan felt a tug towards her.

Strutting over there, she was looking at the waves crashing on shore with an absent-minded expression, her hair blowing in wind under the ridiculous hat, she was wearing.

"I thought you left"

Haley turned her head startled, realizing it was Nathan she sighed "Yeah, uhh, I tried to, the stupid cab never got here"

"Well, I am glad you stayed" said Nathan genuinely "I wanted to thank you for holding back"

She looked mockingly apprehensive for a beat "What do you mean?"

"Jerk is pretty tame" he explained with a smile, and she huffed out a laugh "you could have called me a lot worse"

Haley bowed her head, giving another small laugh, and his face broke into a grin. Nathan continued "probably deserved it"

"Look I have been thinking a lot about this tutoring thing" she started and Nathan felt his heart drop "I am sorry, I just don't think it's a good idea"

"Because of Lucas" he stated, moving next to her.

"Obviously, yeah, I don't know what I was thinking; there is no good that could come out of this"

"Really?" jeered Nathan bitterly "thought I saw you guys fighting back there"

"Meaning what, that I should keep tutoring you to stick it to him?" Nathan laughed half-heartedly, looking down, way to make him feel worse about himself "maybe that's how they do things in Nathan land but I am not gonna do that to my best friend"

"Maybe you are doing me a favor then"

"What does that mean?" said Haley with a frown.

"Sometimes I think it would be easier if I got kicked off the team" he confessed "especially with my dad"

Nathan looked into her eyes seemingly hurt but Haley couldn't say anything, just blinked at him, knowing in her heart that he needed someone to comfort him, she stopped her hand before it could reach out for his and averted from the subject quickly "I should go find Lucas" she said, jumping from her place on the railing "just try and smooth things over"

"He left, like a while ago"

"Great" said Haley sarcastically "well I guess I am walking"

Anxiety poked at him, at the thought of Haley walking home alone in the dark. Sure, tree hill was safer than the teacup ride in a theme park; nevertheless, he wanted to make sure she arrived safely.

"Let me give you a ride" he said from behind her.

"It's not that far" she responded, pulling off her hat.

His mind was made up that he would give Haley a ride home; Quickly following her to the parked cars, he rushed ahead and opened the door to his girlfriend's comet for her "Forget it, you are not gonna walk, look, we will take Peyton's car"

"I am really fine"

She raised her chin, and in the moonlight; his cornflower blue eyes had a grayish tint, that held a calming effect, disguised behind a mischievous gleam, before she knew it, Haley felt a fluttering in the pit of her stomach but it wasn't nausea, as Nathan said "A little high on yourself aren't you, going around telling people you are all fine", she laughed unwillingly and briefly, trying to look away from his gaze, but failing tremendously, as she stood there staring at his face, he continued "look, please just take the ride, it's the least I can do"

After what seemed like eternity, though it must have been a couple of seconds, Haley's resolve shattered and she murmured an "okay" softly, getting inside the car. She could just hit herself, accepting a ride from Nathan when there was still tension between her and Lucas, her prediction was correct, tutoring Nathan would only lead to trouble and Lucas didn't even know about it. She had been dumb to try and defend him, even dumber for taking a likeness towards him, Haley couldn't lie to herself, she knew she was growing a soft spot for the raven-haired boy, and in her heart that seemed like the right thing to do.

When Nathan climbed into the driver's seat, she felt the air around her grow hot, and quickly rolled down the window as he turned the key in the ignition.

With the way Haley avoided talking about his father, Nathan decided to stay silent, he had soon realized that people didn't care to listen for his issues, Peyton did at first, but all she did these days seemed to be roll her eyes at his complaints, he guessed he was getting so whiny that it became annoying.

That was before Haley muttered "What did you mean?"

"What?"

She sighed, raising her voice a little "I asked 'what you meant?' when you said it would be easier, if you got kicked off the team"

"Oh, its nothing- don't bother yourself"

"Well, I want to know" she said determined.

"You do?" he asked uncertainly.

"Yes, I mean besides, this could be the last conversation we ever have" blurted Haley, and Nathan gripped the wheel really hard his knuckles turned white.

"It shouldn't be" he murmured clenching his jaw.

"Left"

"What?" Nathan jerked back to reality, his muscles relaxing slightly.

"Take the next left"

"Oh"

"Nathan, you know this situation with you and Lucas, it just- he is my best friend"

"Whatever" he sulked, Haley sighed, reverting back to her original question "so you never answered me"

"Does it matter now?" Nathan asked dryly.

"It does to me" she whispered.

He pondered for a moment before saying "It was nothing, just some pressure my dad is putting on me, saying 'I am not good enough' for a Scott"

Haley frowned "That's ridiculous, you do those jumps"

Nathan went silent for a beat before asking "Do you mean a jump shot?"

"Yes" she joked "you are great at that, if you can't get a basketball career, you could always become a gymnast"

He snorted a laugh; she smiled at the sight and stated "That was before Lucas"

"No, my dad was always that way, but, yes, the guy isn't making my job any easier" he confessed.

"You want to quit?" she asked but Nathan stayed silent and she just looked away sighing, and pointed at a small house "Just pull over here"

He stopped the car, and she blurted out "Yeah, this is my house; we are staying here while we renovate the mansion"

Nathan laughed shyly "it's not like I was trying to show off"

"Oh, isn't that your default setting" Haley jibed again before she could stop herself, but Nathan just gave a polite laugh, and she grinned sheepishly saying "sorry"

He bit his lips, swiftly, looking hesitant "Can I be honest with you?"

"Um" she laughed a little nervously "I don't know, you tell me"

"What I said at the beach, that was a lie, I am really lucky to have basketball, it's pretty much my shot at everything from here on out. If I lose it, it's over for me"

"So don't lose it" she stated simply.

"Well, that's just the thing, with my grades; I am close to being ineligible to do the one thing that I am actually good at. It's not just my life, either; it's my dad's too. It's like he's still got something to prove to Whitey, and if I screw it up, it's gonna destroy him. And it will destroy me. I know you have no reason to do this, and I know it will complicate things with Lucas"

She laughed, in a way that said 'it was an understatement'. He continued "But I really need your help"

"And I will find you someone else, I promise" she tried softly.

"No, I came to you because you are the best tutor at the school" Nathan argued, only saying half the truth "and you are not gonna tear me down, it's not exactly easy having everybody know you are failing. It's you or nobody else"

His eyes stared intently at her, waiting on her response; she laughed nervously, and rested her hand on her head, conflicted. Taking a deep breath, she finally responded "Okay, I will get your through the semester and then you have got to be on your own. I am serious"

 _You tell him Haley, she almost rolled her eyes at herself._

"That's totally fine with me"

"Okay, umm… great, so we will start on Monday" Haley said as she fiddled with her hands, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear, then before exiting the car, she once again stated firmly "lay off Lucas"

Nathan nodded reluctantly and she jumped out, slamming the door behind her and walking away; not looking back once.

He put the comet into gear and drove off, in the past few days; his mind had done more mileage than that car in the half an hour. Not that he would admit it, but the moment Haley had told him she wouldn't tutor him anymore, his mind went into a frenzy because those two hours a day of studying with her were one of the highlights of his life at that moment, right up there with scoring a basket. It wasn't that he enjoyed studying, sure, Haley made calculus seem simpler and Shakespearean dudes in tights seem fun; but it was just her, she made his day better, Nathan noticed that he had memorized her movements and expressions. Her smiles and laughter were inscribed in his mind; so far he counted the shy grin; when he did something she particularly enjoyed or gave her a compliment, her smile would get all big and her head would tilt to the side maybe with a nervous giggle around the end, then there was the proud smile; like when he finally understands what she had been explaining and starts answering on his own, she would stare at him with a soft beam and a twinkle in her eye, the sleepy smile when she had worked all day long, but she still aims for more and her eyes seem droopy but an encouraging smile is plastered to her face, or when he fucks up and she scrunches up her nose and playfully punches him while simultaneously trying to not smile so her lips just curl up, and there was also the barely contained glee laugh, that was one of his absolute favorites when everything about her screamed happy… He knew all of that and it scared him.

His feet pressed down harder on the gas pedal, hoping the booze and his girlfriend would get his mind off this whole ordeal, getting in bed with Peyton was what he needed at the moment, he fiddled with the dial on her radio, when a loud crashing noise and a blow from the passenger seat side; Haley's side, lit up with sparks. Nathan attempted to swerve and avoid additional damage when he lost control completely and hit a tree head on.

Peyton was going to rip his head off, Nathan tried starting the car up again but it wouldn't. Before panic kicked in, he could hear another car pulling up behind him, he felt relieved for a second, before taking a glance in the side view mirror; it was the bastard himself. Nathan stepped out of the car, hiding any signs of shakiness underneath a cocky façade; it would be similar to everyday of his life lately. Lucas came charging his way, voice frantic "Peyton are you okay?"

"Yeah, she is fine. Can't say the same for her car though" He bent down to pick the beer he had bought on his way back from Haley's, then looked up at Lucas accusatorily "What the hell are you doing following my girlfriend?"

Lucas spoke defensively "I wasn't, look I thought she was driving and she was drinking". But Nathan only shook his head, and turned to walk away, when the blond yelled after him "hey where are you going?"

"Back to the party, dumbass" Nathan huffed out a laugh.

"Are you gonna leave her car like this?"

 _If you hadn't showed up then probably no, but now…_

"Yeah, and if you stand there, you can watch me"

"You know this is a crime" Lucas tried reason.

"So call the cops"

Nathan's heart started beating faster, betraying his careless attitude.

Once again, Lucas tried calmly "Nathan, you can't walk away from this. I saw you do it"

An idea popped in Nathan's head faster than whack-a-mole "No, you didn't see me do it, cause I was with Tim the whole time, which is exactly what he is gonna say if anybody asks him. He owes me, so looks like it's your word against hours then. You can guess how that's gonna go down"

"So, you are just gonna lie and walk away! What about Peyton?"

Lucas could almost spot that Nathan cared behind the douchey attitude, before he continued "your girlfriend"

The younger one smirked "my girlfriend? The one you have been hitting on" he thought

"The car is registered in her name" Lucas finished his guilt rant.

"Yeah, and you know what? Come to think of it, like you said, she was really drunk last time I saw her. Maybe she did this" He tried to freak Lucas out; he wouldn't actually rat out his girlfriend, would he? "But then again, all I see is a wrecked car and you"

With that Nathan took off walking to the beach house. The walk back was a blur, Peyton was on his mind, the way he did her was awful but he was so mad he couldn't bring himself to care, on the one hand; getting back at the Peyton who favored Lucas felt nice, on the other hand, pushing his girlfriend under the tracks like that felt entirely wrong, a part of him knew that Mr. goody-two-shoes won't actually let it happen, and the thought comforted him for a minute.

He arrived to see Peyton sulking on the couch, still watching that stupid prom tape "you reinvented cruel tonight"

"It was a joke"

"Funny, how you are the only one laughing"

"Like you and your stupid comic strip" he jibbed. "At least when he played his joke, it was in front of the team and the cheerleaders, she actually put their sex life in a newspaper, and not in a good way," he thought.

When Peyton didn't answer, Nathan sighed, feeling remorseful, Peyton deserved better, and these days he hardly gave her acceptable "I am sorry, I didn't mean that"

"I am sorry is getting a little old with you Nathan"

"I know, I just can't remember a time when things were this bad" said Nathan sincerely.

"Where have you been for the past two hours?"

"I went on a beer run"

Peyton looked disbelieving "To where, Canada?" he briefly gave a nervous laugh, hoping she wouldn't actually hammer him. Which of course she did "Nathan, I wanna go home, but I can't because it seems my car is missing, you wouldn't know anything about that, would you?"

"Uhh, I think Tim took it" He said, giving her the excuse he said he would, except this time, his palms were much sweatier than before.

"You think?" Peyton's voice was an octave away from a shrill.

The raven-haired boy thought quickly on his feet for more fibs "Well, he wanted to take Brooke home, so I told him, he could burrow it. I didn't think you would care"

Peyton's eyes and mouth were wide agape for a few seconds, before she lifted up a red cup like they used in their drinking game previously and said "I never told a ridiculous lie to my girlfriend's face. Drink up" she handed to Nathan; who looked incredibly vulnerable, the cup and continued "because Brooke got a ride home with Theresa after _you_ disappeared, wanna play again?"

 _Smart move, Nathan, go for the best friend._

"Alright, then it was some other girl, I don't know" he tried again, almost like a fish flopping out of water "What's the big deal anyway? I know you were gonna stay here"

"So you gave away my car?" she raised her voice again.

"Look, Whatever! I am going to bed, are you coming?"

Peyton responded sarcastically "Yeah, That's what I am gonna do" then she turned her back to him "I can't believe you just asked me that with a straight face."

Heart sinking to the ground, Nathan walked away, trying to give her time to cool off. He didn't want Peyton out of his life, with all her drama; he wanted her to be there with him. The dynamic between has been tug and pull for a long time, but he knew she would be fine in a while and they would be okay. Until then, she would refuse to sleep in his bed, even if he offered to sleep on the couch.

Feeling defenseless, Nathan reached for the phone absentmindedly, and dialed Haley's number, it rang two times before he realized what he was doing and hastily hung up.

The next morning, Nathan heard a knock on the door, followed by Peyton groggily calling his name to open it, but she was closer and it was Tim. He couldn't get there fast enough and Peyton opened the glass door.

"Hey. What's up?"

"You bring my car back?" Peyton asked

"Your car? I don't have your car" Tim frowned.

FUCK, HE SHOULD HAVE CALLED HIM. But he was too exhausted and fell asleep right away.

"Nathan said you took me car" she insisted, and Nathan came running behind her, wide-eyed and nodding his head.

"Oh- your car- we umm- the ummm" stammered Tim.

"Nice try" said Peyton and turned to Nathan "where the hell is my car?"

All cards on the table, Nathan couldn't do anything but tell her about the crash; of course leaving out the details afterwards, instead he told her it will be taken care of.

"I can't believe you, Nathan" she screamed, pulling her leather jacket on.

"Peyton, look just calm down" he tried to reason "I will take care of it. Look, I am sorry"

"Enough!" she shrilled "just stop saying that, I will not keep up with that anymore. We are done Nathan"

He rolled his eyes, another breakup threat "Peyton just stop acting like that. I will get it fixed"

"You lie! You ignore me! And you treat people like crap"

"It was a joke" he yelled exasperated

"I feel sorry I ever met you" she whispered, and Nathan went silent, looking evidently wounded.

"Come on. Pey" he whispered.

"We are done Nathan" she said between gritted teeth, slamming the door behind her.

He kicked the couch in frustration.

###

Nathan slowly entered Peyton's bedroom, when he deemed it enough time for her to cool down, once he had arrived home before, Keith (who Lucas blabbed to, obviously) had called his parents, and his mother laid it on him hard, his dad giving a firm but not harsh lecture, all laced with 'your basketball career' and 'what would the scholars think?', afterwards he went to Keith's shop and declared he would pay the bill, he didn't want any favors form Pucas. Instead the other one had words to say. He threatened him to stay away from Haley.

Of course, for that moment, Nathan was taken aback, how did he know? He certainly hadn't blabbed and if Haley hadn't suffered a blow to the head; he was sure she wouldn't either; she was the one who put that rule of secrecy. However, he retorted with the fact that they were just talking, like Lucas and Peyton; that shut him up.

"Car will be ready by Friday" he said softly

"Whatever" Peyton didn't look up from her drawing "the bag of stuff by the door is yours"

"What's all this?"

"It's all the crap you left here. Take it"

"This is the necklace I gave you" said Nathan, remembering when he bought her the accessory she eyed at a local thrift shop, he asked her to be his girlfriend as he slipped it on her neck and she kissed him full on the lips and agreed. They spent that day laughing and hugging and making out.

"You mean the leash? No thanks"

Nathan gave her a pleading look "Peyton. Come on." He bent down and laid a hand on her shoulder, hoping just to recapture one moment from that day. "Look my mom's gonna cool down and everything will be back to normal"

She jerked away from him suddenly, getting up and putting distance between them as she said "Okay. Trust me; the last thing I want with us is normal. In case you haven't noticed, normal sucks with us Nathan"

"Is this about your car? Because I am taking care of that"

"It's not about the car. It's about you. I finally saw you clearly last night, the way you treated me, the way you treated Tim, the way you treated your brother"

"Don't call him that" snapped Nathan.

"And the way you are playing that girl"

"What? Are you talking about Haley is that what this is about?" his tone became defensive "Peyton she means nothing"

"Okay, if that's a case then you are an ass, and even if she does mean something, you are still an ass, and what's really sad Nathan is that you are too stupid to get that. So thank you for being an amazing son of a bitch last night, you really made this a no brainer"

Nathan sighed "I will call you when you aren't so PMS"

"Don't bother, I mean it, we are done. So get the hell out" when Nathan didn't budge, she snapped, throwing the bag of his stuff at him "I mean it, get the hell out"

He did, in a trance, he didn't remember walking home or going into his room or even pulling the necklace out; and reminisced about his times with Peyton, they seemed like forever ago, they were never too compatible but there was just something that he loved about her, and something she must love about him, why would they keep on going those years; on and off, yes, but still. He remembered how he would tickle her till she was breathless with laughter or how they would make out for hours and part ways with sore lips or when she drew weird things on his arm, those times couldn't be thrown down the drain, however, those times were long gone by, he hardly remembers a time they sat together without it turning into a screaming match lately. And what did she mean about the Haley thing? Did she think he could be in love with her? That was one of the impossibilities, right after the existence of a phoenix; actually the phoenix would be more believable than him and Haley.

Haley didn't think of him that way and if she did, that wouldn't mean he feels the same way. Sure, in Haley he found the comfort and patience he didn't find anywhere else, but nothing else was between them. Peyton was being ridiculous.

 _Jerk_. He heard Haley whisper.


	3. Of altered dreams and father complex

Honestly everytime I see a review, I just start writing, thank you for your kindness, I always want to know what you think, if you like this story, share the link as well, the more the merrier

Of altered dreams and father complex

"A thousand half-loves must be forsaken to take one whole heart home."  
— **Rumi**

Song muse "Boys don't cry by the cure"

For ages she had known Lucas, crushes, bullying, secrets; they have been through it all, never at any point has she thought of keeping anything from him. Luke was her confidant through and through, so you could imagine how betrayed her best friend felt when he found her hat in the car Nathan was driving.

True, there was nothing between her and Nathan, other than tutoring sessions, but the rivalry between both boys had gone on for a while now, that Lucas felt furious, confronting Haley immediately the night before. He left shortly after and Haley was relieved because she wasn't sure how she could explain what was happening, and the fact that she was actually seeing things from the other one's perspective and that it all made sense to her.

So that day, when she walked into Karen's café and noticed Lucas sitting at a stool by the counter; his back to her, Haley decided quickly on leaving, she rushed out the door and had already walked a few steps when she heard him call her name, and Haley turned around, facing Lucas.

"How long are we gonna do this?"

"Do what?"

"Avoid each other" said Lucas.

"You tell me. You are the one upset" she said, her voice cracking slightly.

"And you are the one who lied to me"

"I don't know what to say to you Luke"

Lucas moved closer, his voice filled with accusation "just explain to me, why you were with Nathan. I mean considering these past few weeks and what he has done"

"I can't" replied Haley.

"You know, how I feel about him, Haley" he said, walking away from her.

"Lucas. Fine" she shouted after him. Lucas turned to face her, mouth curled in malice, Haley's voice raised a little, tears already springing into her eyes "yes, I know how you feel about him, but there is something you don't know."

He gestured for her to go on "I promised I would tutor him if he left you alone" suddenly Lucas' whole demeanor changed, he whispered a small "What?"

Haley's tone became firmer "I am doing it for you, Luke"

It was her turn to walk away from him; she left Lucas behind; standing utterly ashamed. Though as Haley rounded the corner, it was her turn to feel shameful, because she had to add lying to the list of why she felt unworthy of her friendship with Lucas lately, right after secrecy.

She knew in the depth of her very being that what she had with Nathan wasn't just a method to help Lucas, nor was it guilt over a student who needed help; perhaps it had started out that way. She was smart enough to know that her heart racing at Nathan's smile indicated something more. It wasn't a crush, she had those before, but this was more intense, how her heart ached whenever Nathan showed any sign of distress, how she couldn't stop wearing the tacky bracelet he gave her or how she felt joy and pride radiating through her very being whenever Nathan took a step closer to being a better student and human being.

The worst part about this wasn't the fact that Nathan would never feel the same way; though it did majorly contribute to her anguish, but it was actually the fact that Peyton seemed into Lucas and vice versa, Nathan was apparently still into Peyton, from what she could tell and the thought of him in any kind of pain was agonizing. Haley would feel content in knowing that Nathan was happy and alright, even if not with her. The intensity of her feelings terrified Haley to her very core that she had to sit down on the sidewalk a little, drawing in a shaky breath.

"This can't be happening" she whispered, closing her eyes and pulling her knees closer to her chest.

Next day had arrived soon enough, and Haley found herself already getting dressed for her shift at Karen's. She had been avoiding Lucas all day long, as she brought customers their orders, Lucas was watching her since she got there over his shoulders, hesitant to speak first, he felt he had wronged her greatly and wasn't sure how to apologize.

"I am an idiot" declared Lucas.

"I know"

"I am sorry" he whispered, she nodded slightly, and he continued in a normal voice "I miss hanging out with you, Hales"

Somewhere in her heart, the feeling of guilt returned at the fact that he apologized, she fidgeted a little "Yeah, I miss hanging out with you too"

"Listen, I appreciate everything you did for me. I do, Haley, but, how about you let me handle the team from now on, okay?"

"Okay?" she smiled.

"So you can stop tutoring, Nathan, now" he said as she picked up a bill on a table.

"Umm, no, I can't"

"Haley!"

"Lucas! I can't, I promised him. I break that promise, I am just as bad as… you think he is" she retorted firmly, and walked away.

For a few minutes she thought he would let this go, but of course he didn't.

"Hales, listen, you don't have to feel guilty for him" he came up from behind her as she pulled a slice of blueberry pie from the oven "He isn't worth it"

"You know, Luke, you don't even know that" she said defensively.

"What?"

She sighed "I know how you feel about him, but did you ever think he wasn't that bad?"

"For a split second, but then I pushed that thought right out of my head. Haley…"

"You know forget it" she raised a hand, defeated "bad idea"

Lucas decided to let it go, Haley was just being Haley, seeing the best in people, and if Nathan ever broke her heart, well he would just have to break his leg.

###

The hall was buzzing all around, yet, Nathan stood in the middle shoulders slumped. He had just tried apologizing to Peyton; however, she insisted that they were broken up. There was disdain in her voice and he knew she probably meant it this time.

"Hey!" Haley's sweet voice, snapped him from his trance.

"Hi" he looked down at her with a smile.

"Ready?"

"Yeah" he nodded

His entire mood changed when he saw Haley, and he found himself even cracking a joke, his smile becoming huge when he heard her giggle behind him as they walked into the tutor center.

"What happened?" she asked, as soon as they sat down.

"Huh, what?" he frowned "What makes you think anything happened?"

"Nathan" she pressed.

He looked at her for a few seconds, unsure of when his face betrayed him before sighing "Peyton broke up with me"

"What? Why?"

"Does it matter?"

"Yes, Nathan, it always matters" she said sincerely, reaching out and putting her hand on his. Nathan's heart leapt and he had to swallow the lump in his throat; he hadn't realized how much he needed just a small gesture of compassion.

"If I tell you, will you promise not break up with me, too" he tried to joke, but the crack in his voice gave him away.

"Hmmm" she gave him an, I-know-you-did-something, lopsided playful grin with a cocked eyebrow "Speak!"

Nathan laughed softly; he knew she would forgive him "I kind of pulled something with Lucas at the party, after you went outside"

She closed her eyes, disappointed "Nathan"

"I know, I promised you"

"Why are you doing this?" she asked softly.

"I don't know" he confessed "You know what the funny part was"

"What?"

"For a moment, I had to make sure you weren't there"

"Didn't want to risk your tutoring sessions?" she joked.

"Didn't want to risk not seeing you everyday" he responded frankly, and a blush crept up in her cheeks "So, you mad at me?"

"No" she finally whispered, "just disappointed"

"That's worse"

"Nathan, I am trying to see things from your side, I promise, but the way you are with people, I can't just stand by and tell you its okay, how you treat the ones around you"

Nathan frowned agitated, "let's just start"

She passed over their history book, ready to explain, but before she could stop herself, Haley asked "Do you miss her?"

He froze, but didn't look up, after a beat, he shrugged and changed the subject as he saw the plastic bracelet peeking from under her sleeve; he reached out and slightly pulled it "Hey! That is some fine jewelry"

"Shut up" Haley said, blushing even more, as she pulled her sleeve over it again and crossed her arms.

"Come on" he persisted, tugging on her sleeve with a smile.

"You know what, fine" she responded, proceeding to remove the bracelet.

"No, no" he said quickly, closing his hand around her wrist "just kidding, it suits you" he winked, and Haley huffed a laugh.

"Let's start; you have exams coming up" she tried to sound serious, but her smile said the opposite "So, the fourteenth amendment…"

###

"The good news is that you did better, and the bad news is, better is a _D_ " said Haley handing him back his practice test; they were at Nathan's house.

"Yeah, I guess, I didn't really give this one my best shot"

Nathan was upset and he wasn't even trying to hide it, something new had happened, Haley asked "What's going on with you?"

"Well, you know me and Peyton broke up" he reminded her, of their conversation a few hours before.

"Peyton and I" corrected Haley.

"She broke up with you too?" he joked and Haley rolled her eyes.

"Just, I didn't know, she was gonna take it this hard, she went off on Brooke in practice, kinda worried about her"

Before she could stop herself, Haley jibed "Well, maybe you should've worried about her more when you were together" when Nathan looked up, face hard "I am sorry, but it's true"

"No, you don't know the first thing about Peyton and I" he responded defensively.

She cleared her throat and said "me and Peyton"

"Whatever"

Haley took a sip of her tea, as Nathan avoided her gaze and looked over his test; it was so confusing with him, one minute it was jokes and niceness, the other it was the cold-treatment. She stared him down for a long time but he continued avoiding her gaze until she spoke "listen, I should go"

"What?" his eyes snapped to her "we still have time"

"Yeah, I think that's enough for today"

Nathan groaned "No, listen, Haley, let's just forget it and continue"

"It's no use Nathan" she tried "you clearly aren't focused enough"

"Well, then let's watch a movie or something" he said desperately.

"I can't, I have…"

"You were going to stay with me for three more hours, anyway, don't try to convince me you have plans, if you aren't going to teach me anything, then let's just hang" he offered "I will make popcorn"

Haley huffed "Fine, but we are watching something educational"

"Educational?" his brows rushed together in a frown.

That was the day Haley found out how heavily Nathan breathed when he slept, they had gone out to a nearby rental store to find a DVD, when she insisted on the story they were assigned to in class 'a midsummer night's dream'. Haley had read that book countless times, reveling in the enchanting events yet slightly disappointed in what seemed to her as one dimensional characters. Nathan, on the other hand, tried as hard as he could to pull her in the direction of the Austin powers movie, but Haley was adamant. She had said educational and she was going to stick by her statement.

By the time, the third scene had started, Nathan's head was slumped against her shoulder; sound asleep, Haley just continued eating the popcorn he microwaved, moving slightly lower so he wouldn't get a kink in his neck.

"Haley" she heard him say.

"Yeah?" Haley asked but he never responded, when she looked over at him, she realized he was still sleeping and came to the conclusion that she must have imagined it, she threw another handful of popcorn in her mouth.

Her shoulder had fallen asleep an hour ago, but she didn't have the heart to shift, the bowl of popcorn was almost empty. All of a sudden, Nathan's mom entered the room, Haley sat up a little straighter, Nathan's head slid lower, his face squished against her arms but he still hadn't woken up.

"Oh" she stammered "hello, Mrs. Scott"

"Hello"

She tried moving to shake her hand. But Nathan chose that precise moment to close his arms around her in a vice grip, mistaking her for a pillow, and she shrieked as he, pulled her down with him. Haley blushed as she lay slumped awkwardly to the side, Nathan still holding onto her, his heavier weight not allowing her to budge a friction. The older woman stood there, her arms crossed. At that point his mother seemed to be upside down.

"I am Haley, Nathan's tutor" she looked down, Nathan had drooled a little on her "we are just- umm, studying"

Nathan picked that precise moment to snore and Haley sighed closing her eyes.

"Well, you are doing a great job"

Haley gave a sheepish short laugh, attempting to push Nathan off, man, _he is heavy_ "I should go"

"No, I wouldn't dream of it" the older woman said, walking away "if it weren't you for you, how could I be sure my son was getting enough sleep?"

The tutor groaned in embarrassment, her meetings with Mrs. Scott were getting more and more awkward each time.

Long after the credits rolled on screen, Nathan had started stirring; opening his eyes ever so slightly, before jumping up in shock; he had noticed Haley, stuck under him, eyes showing boredom, she was staring stoically at the blue screen of the TV.

"Morning, sunshine" she said with a sarcastic smile.

"Ughh, what happened?" Nathan mumbled, rubbing his eyes.

"You were enjoying the movie so much; you decided to watch with your eyes closed"

"Sorry" he responded meekly.

"Study and I will see you tomorrow, after school" she said, Nathan watched her walking away; somehow, he didn't feel that embarrassed. Actually, it felt natural, waking up in her arms. But a tiny voice in his head mumbled that it was wrong, at least, like he was cheating on Peyton.

 _Peyton and I are broken up, shut up._

###

Nathan, who had seen Peyton casually walk into the locker room that day, was dumbfounded. Once she entered, all the boys, in their towels, stopped and ogled, but she didn't give them a second glance, not even him or Lucas, instead she had made a beeline to Whitey's office, only throwing a quick "hi" his way.

For a while, Nathan had stood there in the locker room, waiting for some sort of explanation, even Lucas stalled a little more than usual. Eventually, she and Whitey, walked out of his office together, not looking at either boy.

"Close your mouth, boys, might get stuck that way" Whitey joked over his shoulder, as they left the locker room.

The rest of the day was hardly different, even after overcoming the original surprise, Nathan's mind was still buzzing. Until Haley had come knocking on the door, as soon as he answered, Nathan fell to the floor, cackling "What are you wearing?"

She rolled her eyes, "a poncho"

"What threw it up?"

"My mom made it" she deadpanned.

Nathan couldn't stifle his laughter however, "so you actually wore it voluntarily"

"Shut up and let's get started"

He continued laughing as he put the pot of tea over the stove; added honey, cinnamon and peppermint; just the way Haley likes it, and pushed over the cup to her, receiving a quick 'thank you'. He tried to remember what Peyton liked to drink, did she drink tea? No, it was coffee, no wait…

"Can I buy a vowel?"

"Huh?"

"I was asking what you thought about Demetrius"

"A douche, really" he answered naturally.

"Why would you think that?"

"I mean come on, Hales, he is trying to force Hermia into marrying him, like when Helena told him of their plans to run off and get married, dude should've taken it as a sign to take a hike, but he still tries to screw them over, and then he abandons Helena; the one who could actually like… What?" Nathan stopped as he noticed Haley staring at him in awe.

"You read the book!"

"Cable was out" he responded.

Haley cleared her throat, obviously pleased with him "Why do you think Helena is allowing him to treat her that way?"

"Daddy issues?" he shrugged

"Nathan!"

"Maybe, she really loves him or maybe Shakespeare is just trying to screw me over"

"Yes and yes" she said and Nathan guffawed. Then, Haley slid him a practice exam "I think you are ready for this, and I will give you extra math homework next to your English one, just a heads up."

He spent around two hours answering questions about 'a midsummer night's dream' as Haley graded other's papers. After he was done, she started on his, as he thought about Peyton, everything about their situation was messed up, and at that point, he was sure, she truly didn't want him anymore. The question is…

"Still in denial?" asked Haley.

"About what?" he looked over at the petite brunette.

"Missing her" Nathan sighed as she continued: "it's okay that you do"

"What are you, my tutor or my shrink?"

"Whatever you need" she smiled, looking away

"I treated Peyton pretty bad, she had every right to walk away" He noticed Haley looking at him profoundly and he confessed "okay, yeah, it was my fault, I screwed up, I just wish, I had another chance"

Haley looked away with a sad smile. Her heart felt as though had been crushed with an icy grip and she hastily changed the subject "Nice work"

"That was the truth" Nathan huffed with irritation.

"No" she laughed "on your practice exam, 81"

"Oh" he looked at the paper with pride "you know, it's funny, I think we have actually talked more than Peyton and I ever did"

"Peyton and I" she said proudly, patting his arm "good job"

"Yeah you, too, hey, are you coming to the game?" he asked as she walked away.

Haley turned around "umm, that depends on how you do on your English exam, anything less than an 81, I am staying home and watching the office"

"Alright, Haley"

She stopped walking away again and turned to face him "Yeah?"

"I know this hasn't been easy for you, I just wanna say thanks"

Avoiding his gaze, she nodded "Good luck"

 _Peyton like coffee… no, tea… wait, she never drank anything. Of course, she drinks something, dumbass._ Nathan groaned loudly, as he stared at Haley's empty cup. He couldn't remember his girlfriend of two years favorite drink, but he nailed Haley's preference in two sessions. _Perfect._

He needed to make things right with Peyton, she deserves that much.

###

Deborah Helen Scott nee Lee passed nothing on to her son Nathan, from her Marilyn blonde hair, to the serenity in her face. He actually favored his father physically, as a matter of fact, his uncle Cooper had played a joke on him when he was little to mock the lack of similarities, told him that he wasn't actually Deb's son, and that they took him from the hospital by accident, four year old Nathan cried the entire night, even after Cooper apologized a hundred times and swore that he was only joking, Nathan stayed in his mother's arms all night weeping, Deb had scolded her brother that day and even stood up to Dan when he told Nathan to go to his own bed, stating that if her son needed her, then she would be there to hold him.

Henceforth his incredible attachment to his mother, when Nathan was younger, up until age nine, he would stand for long periods of time, holding onto her legs around the house, Somehow, though, as he grew older things have changed drastically, his mother had stayed the same caring woman she always has been, but her role in his life had greatly lessened. For months at a time, she would go on business meetings to the point where he would actually be surprised when seeing her at home, which left him with Dan Scott and all they ever talked about, was his basketball future.

So Nathan absolutely loved the times where his mother would just come and sit with him, even if she didn't know the first thing about his life.

"How's my boy?" asked Deb, approaching Nathan who was lifting weights.

"Why?" He joked, putting the barbell "dad sent you to spy on me? Poison my drink?"

She handed him the icy lemonade and he laughed, smelling the glass for good measure before taking a sip; he loved teasing his mother, well, when he could.

"You know you would think he organized this whole thing himself, so he can get back in the court"

He was referring to the father-son game which was approaching at an alarming speed.

"I know he has been tough on you lately, Nate, but I want you to know, things are gonna change around here."

Nathan gave a short bittersweet smile, his mother had promised him change too many times to keep track "I just wish he would lay-off, you know? I wanna be good for him; he just gets so worked up about this stuff"

"Well, if you don't wanna play, don't play. He will get over it"

He shook his head, handing her back the drink, as he said: "you know that's a lie mom", then he walked away.

Deb's heart ached for her son, she couldn't simply let him walk away looking so frail, casting the lemonade aside, she got up; hoping a change of subject would do the trick.

"Hey, Nate, I was thinking about the cookies I used to make, you want some?"

"Nah" he smiled sadly "I can't eat anything with sugar content a week before the big games"

"Who told you that?" she stood up straighter, he shrugged and Deb felt blood pounding in her head, sometimes she wanted to strangle Dan, the boy was sixteen and every part of his life focused on getting a ball into a hoop "come with me, now, we are making our gummy bear- dippin dots- M&m's – cookies. Then we will go to the dentist"

She pulled her son out of his room as he tittered.

"How are you Nathan?" she asked softly, putting the cookies into the oven, as Nathan licked some remaining dough off the spoon.

He shrugged "I can bench press…"

"No" she interrupted "how are _you_? Is there anything new? Let's say, short, brunette and sleeping on our couch?"

Nathan took a few minutes to grasp what she was referring to, before he groaned in embarrassment 'You saw that?" he moaned.

"Uh-huh" she laughed mischievously.

"No, that's just Haley, she is my tutor"

"And does just Haley put all of her student to sleep, or is that _just_ you?" she teased.

"Mom, come on now, we were watching that ridiculous movie, and, can we just let it go…"

His face turned a bright shade of red and Deb laughed.

"I remember when you were young, your bed time was 8:30, up until you were seven, and we hadn't even set the bed time for you, when it was 8:30; you would just fall asleep. One time, we were at Grandfather and Grandmother's place, Royal was talking to you and all of a sudden, you just fell forward. We were scared to death, until you snored, I don't think your grandfather has ever felt so offended." Then she moved closer to his ears and whispered "that was when I bought you that water gun you wanted, for getting me out of there"

Nathan laughed uproariously with a mouth full of cookie dough, and his mother put her arms around his shoulders, Nathan has gotten so big, yet, he was still her baby boy who carried too much on his shoulders.

###

Art has always been Peyton's thing, ever since her mother passed away, music and drawing were forms of expression; when she and Nathan started dating, she made a portrait of him, head bowed demurely, worried furrow lines creasing his forehead with their necklace in hand. That was the way he presented it to her, still so unsure, in the first stages of their relationship and incredibly shy, the photo was drawn with a charcoal pencil, in black and white, except for his eyes; which she colored a soft blue. Then over time, Nathan had changed, Dan Scott really had an effect, eventually the adorable selfless playful guy she fell for turned into a pompous jerk who only cared for himself, their first breakup she cried a lot, their second one, she tore up the portrait and burned it, their third breakup she punched a wall and had to be rushed to the ER for breaking a knuckle. Time after time, they broke up and made up, the only good thing becoming them sleeping together at that point, which though fervent; held nothing of the intimacy it did before, there wasn't any emotional connection; he didn't even notice the sketches she put on her walls, each one telling a different story of her life.

She stroked her brush over a canvas, all covered in black, Peyton moved the brush with furious speed.

Nathan knocked on her bedroom door and softly asked: "What do you call that?"

"Love, what do you want, Nathan?"

As he expected, she was still beyond pissed at him. He a careful step closer and said "It's what I don't want, I don't want this for us"

"Maybe you should've thought of that sooner"

"Yeah, I know" said Nathan calmly, moving even closer, fiddling with his hand; a habit of his when nervous "I have been thinking about how we were when we started going out. Like that day at Rhysfield beach. The nights here in your room"

Feeling her resolve wavering, Peyton turned towards him semi-sharply and retorted: "We haven't been that way for a long time"

"We could be, come on Peyton, I have been thinking about you. I know you have been thinking about me"

"I have actually had a lot going on lately" she answered a little dismissively and proudly.

'Yeah, me too, my dad's been growing crazy about this father/son game, and my mom, it's like ever since she came back she's been wanting to hang out"

"I really can't hear this right now" snapped Peyton

Nathan faltered for a beat, and then said:" alright, well, how about you come to the game? Maybe we can hang out afterwards"

He felt exiled from any territory of intimacy as Peyton turned her back on him, a final plea was in order so he wouldn't lose every shred of affection he had in his life; so he moved behind her, close to the girl's ear and said: "I miss you, Peyton" then with a sad smile added "see you there" then he walked away.

Peyton picked up the brush and threw a little blue on the black, it didn't change the painting one bit of course, she sighed, knowing that Nathan Scott held a place deep in her heart; she just knew it wasn't the place he used to hold.

###

The day of the game weather was silently cold, even the lightest breeze was missing, and the entire ambiance screamed grey. Nathan walked with Tim, when he spotted Haley, walking a good distance ahead of Lucas.

"Catch up with you later man" he said, not looking at Tim, then he looked at Haley and said with a smile: "Got a sec?"

"Hey! Yeah, what's up?"

"Check that out" He raised the math quiz that he had taken earlier up to his chest, almost at Haley's eyelevel, she eyed it with for a beat and exclaimed giddily: "An 84? That's so great"

The petite girl was staring up at him with a huge smile; he grinned widely and opened his arms; offering a hug.

"Yeah, hey, congratulations"

As Haley launched herself into his arms, standing on tiptoes and craning her neck to hug him, Nathan bent down low and encircled his arms around her upper back. Still grinning, he raised his eyes to meet Lucas', in a silent dare, he knew his plan to use Haley had gone down the drain the moment he talked to her, yet, he just needed to get in a jab; the smile slowly faded into a taunting expression.

The hug was short and slightly awkward, but Haley breathed a quick laugh; feeling at home in his arms, and she wasn't the first one to let go. Nathan on the other hand, had a sudden surge of protectiveness course through his body, almost as if he was challenging anyone near that Haley; or at least a part of her, belonged to him. When they stopped hugging, Nathan had a fake smile plastered on his face and she nodded curtly, blushing.

"I will look for you on the bleachers" he winked, leaving a flustered Haley behind as he walked towards the gym.

The gym wasn't a place Haley ever thought of going to, and if it weren't for her GPA being threatened, she would've rather avoided the place all together; a dodge ball caused bruise had just healed. But on the bleachers, Haley could finally enjoy the school spirit; or rather the town spirit, everyone at tree hill seemed hung up on basketball and the enthusiasm was infectious, her mood would however be better if her best friend wasn't avoiding her like the plague.

"Lucas. Hey, Scott" she called with a huge smile. Bad idea, both, Lucas and Nathan turned their heads. She motioned towards Lucas, silently asking about what was bothering him, Nathan looked away but the other one gazed at her venomously before looking away as well.

Haley's smile faded, confounded by his change of attitude.

The game started; the tree hill ravens clad in white and the senior ravens were dressed in black. Each player ran up to face their father, or in Lucas' case; Uncle Keith. They seemed happy; fathers and sons, Lucas going for a man-hug with Keith and even Nathan and Dan were all smiles, as they teased each other.

"Sounds like the old man got a lot more buzz than you did" said Dan, when the announcer called his name and the crowd cheered.

"Are you sure your hearing aid isn't turned up too loud?"

Dan laughed, attempting to poke Nathan's ribs but the younger one swatted his hand away playfully. Haley's lips twitched into a smile. It was great that Nathan seemed to be having fun with his dad. The ball was thrown in between both of them and Dan elbowed Nathan slightly, as he jumped up and hit the ball, passing it to another father. The start was fun, people were cheering and Dan scored quickly. The gym was buzzing with cheers, everyone was happy, the parents proud of their children, even allowing themselves a little humiliation.

As soon as the young boys got their hands on the ball, they started showing off, Lucas had tossed the ball in the air and started spinning it on his middle finger, whistling nonchalantly; whilst Keith raised his arms in defeat, then he passed it to number twelve, who maneuvered around his father easily, dribbling the ball between his legs, and then he threw it over to Nathan.

"Don't try that crap in me Nathan"

Nathan was too caught up in the spirit of it all and had interpreted the threatening note in his father's voice as a friendly challenge, smirking, he bounced the ball on the ground, catching it inside his jersey as it went up and then hit it, allowing it to hula hoop around his torso. Haley started laughing and cheering with everyone as Nathan made his way towards the basket and scored. Nobody seemed to notice the way Dan looked at Nathan, Haley did however and it made her uneasy.

During half time the boys were on cloud nine, even the tension between Nathan and Lucas seemed to have faded slightly, they were joking around in their locker room when Dan came bustling in.

"Enemy approaching" Tim said leaning in on Nathan.

"That's right, enemy approaching, you going to bring your best game or what?"

Nathan looked at him incredulously "You are down by thirty, dad"

"No, I am talking to you" Dan moved forward aggressively pointing at Nathan, "you bring your best game and I will bring mine and then we'll see"

"We'll see what?"

"We will see who is best, or would you rather not know?"

Nathan felt his heart drop, for a little while there he was fooled to think his dad was just enjoying the game with him.

"Hey" said Keith entering "come on relax little brother"

Dan didn't take his eyes off Nathan, staring him down like prey: "This isn't your place, Keith"

His eyes then quickly flashed over to his brother, who came to stand beside Nathan.

"It's not your place either, Dan" Keith gestured at the boys "it's their game now, we should be proud they are so good"

"Like you had anything to do with it" scoffed Dan.

Nathan shut his eyes, feeling a huge weight crushing down on his chest.

"You walk away, Danny" Keith said in a gentle yet firm tone.

"Let's see what you got" Dan sniggered at his son, and then left the locker room.

The sixteen year old stood there with melancholic eyes, shame coursed through his veins as his face heated up at the idea of being threatened in front of his friends, his blood boiled and he his lips curled in anger when he glanced and noticed eyes on him.

"You give me your best game" Keith snarled jokingly "and I am gonna hurt ya"

Some of players laughed, even Nathan smiled ruefully, so Keith patted his shoulder slightly and reassured: "you are doing fine"

Lucas could tell a couple of things by Nathan's quick frown, first, that in the father dilemma, the other one had gotten the short end of the stick. Second, Keith was the best father figure he could've asked for. They could keep Dan Scott for all he cared.

They announced the start of the second half and Nathan's face turned impassive and stoic, the players walked back to the gym and Lucas was chased by Haley.

"Luke, are you mad at me? What's going on?"

"I don't want to talk about it right now" he snapped.

"Okay, can you just tell me what I did? Please"

"I saw you with him"

He knew Haley like the back of his own hand, her walk, her mannerism, everything about her tone and smile, was something he had never seen before; this wasn't a normal tutor-student relationship.

"Who, Nathan?! God, he got a good grade on that math quiz. It was nothing" she said.

"I want to believe you, Haley. I do. But I don't think you are telling the truth"

Haley responded too quickly "I am telling the truth, Lucas, there is- there is nothing going on"

Lucas looked down, smiling sadly when he noticed Haley's wrists "nice bracelet"

She stood there as he ran off, feeling exposed.

All around her was too loud, the scoreboard had been reset to zero for both teams, the team who scored the next point would return champions of the night, and of every family dinner for the next three years, she guessed.

Dan started nudging Nathan, but it wasn't how it looked before, Nathan seemed uncomfortable, the dynamic after half-time was filled with tension. The movements were more aggressive and suddenly as Nathan dove for the net with the ball, his father slammed his larger figure into his, sending the boy sprawling across the gym's floor.

Haley's hand flew to her mouth instinctively, her heart dropping; Nathan's body had hit the floor with a loud thud, silencing the gym around them, he groaned in pain, attempting to get up but he didn't seem able to do so. Dan hovered over him, saying something that was inaudible to her, yet, Haley couldn't help but feel fury invading her mind; his father had done nothing to help him up, as a matter of fact, he seemed slightly victorious, Nathan looked away from his place on the ground, and Haley had half a mind to go slap Dan, when surprisingly, Lucas went to help Nathan up; offering him a hand, which the other accepted.

She rejoiced when Nathan got to his feet, clapping and cheering loudly.

Nathan and Lucas were cooperating in a better way than they ever had, it seemed that the boys had set aside their feelings for each other, Lucas handed Nathan the ball, but still dazed with embarrassment and fury. Nathan dropped it, and the announcer stated it was a turnover.

"That was a sloppy turnover, Nathan, That's not like you" said Dan with the ball in his hand, looking back at his son who covered his dad from behind.

Nathan angrily responded: "That's because it was on purpose"

"On purpose, why?"

Both of them moved harshly, mimicking each other's movements, Nathan was only talking and seemed to be moving to deliver a point across, no attempts at reaching for the ball.

"Because you don't deserve my best game, dad, look, I could've beaten you." Dan started elbowing Nathan in the chest, but the younger one persisted, charging at him like a bull "you know it and I know it, you wanna mess with that go ahead. I will give it to you"

Nathan walked backwards, staring his father down and for a beat he actually thought he could see something in his eyes, something that indicated his relationship with his son was more important than that game. However, Dan, quickly shot the ball through the hoop, and people, aside from the select few on the inside, cheered.

"You didn't beat me, dad" challenged Nathan, before walking away "you never will.'

###

As soon as Nathan arrived to his room, he slammed the door behind him and locked it, after that he removed his shirt and shoes and threw himself on the velvety material of the bed, drawing in a large breath.

He felt like the definition of scum, after the humiliating loss, which he was positive wasn't going to be let go of easily. He saw Peyton as he walked out of the gym, feeling excited, he walked up to her and told her things would be different; he fully intended to treat Peyton better.

But then she surprised him with the fact that her mother had died on a day like today, Nathan couldn't help but feel ashamed and then downright heartbroken as she announced she didn't come for him, on cue, Lucas walked out and she moved towards him. The truth was out in the open, she was ditching him for Lucas, Nathan couldn't even bring himself to talk anymore, instead he walked home, tiptoeing to his room and just sat in silence for what seemed to be hours, though had to be shorter.

A knock on his door snapped him out of his thoughts, he tried to ignore it, pretend he was asleep or even wasn't there, but the person persisted. Groaning, Nathan stood up to open up and was met with the curly haired blonde.

"Peyton?" his voice was laced with shock.

She fidgeted slightly; her voice distressed "Nathan, we need to talk"

"Okay" he nodded, letting her into the room, his eyes not leaving her face as though if he blinked she would disappear.

"We belong together" she brashly and hastily announced, and Nathan let out a shaky laugh "you are what I want, do you want me?"

Nathan nodded, feeling a tug that was unnatural towards her, a way he had never felt before.

"I do, Peyton" he answered sincerely "I will change, I promise"

"Good, because that is the only way you will keep me"

He was in front of her in two steps, hands cradling her face softly; he pressed his lips to hers. Nathan slowly opened his eyes, and he gasped inaudibly, Peyton was gone and in her place stood Haley, a halo surrounding her, she was absolutely breathtaking, nothing had changed about her, yet, everything had changed, her brown hair framed her face as she smiled dazzlingly. She touched his hands, and electricity coursed through his body, but he couldn't move away. They stared into each other's eyes for a couple of seconds, he was lost in her loving hazel ones, as she tugged on his hand, like a beautiful siren lulling him to his imminent death.

"Do you want me?"

"Yes" muttered Nathan with a fixed expression.

"Could you lose me? Could you lose your Haley?" she whispered menacingly.

Nathan felt his heart beat faster at the words 'your Haley', but he choked out a "no" his throat going dry.

Haley moved closer to his ear, and softly declared "you will"

"I can't, please" Nathan begged, still confused at the sudden hold Haley had on him.

"You don't deserve me" her face broke into a frightening Cheshire smile and she backed away.

"Hales, wait, I can change" he almost screamed, running forward, trying to grab onto her as her graceful form faded into thin air.

Nathan jolted awake, sheen of sweat covering his body, he struggled a few seconds to breath probably.

 _Your Haley._

The voice rang in his ears, Nathan had dreamt of zombies feasting on him, of being naked in front of the entire student body, of being chased by sharks on land. But this dream terrorized him to his very core. His heart hammered against his chest, and he didn't have any ideas on why. Could you lose your Haley? With trembling hands, Nathan reached for his phone, quickly dialing her number.

"Hello" answered the sweet voice

"Hales"

Ok, so I had a hard time portraying their emotions, but i fully believe Haley was aware of her feelings long before Nathan was, and I wanted to transition Nathan's love for Peyton to Haley and to show how it would go, I loved writing the tv scene, it was really fun, as well as the dream (even though I think it was too cheesy) Thank you and please leave your honest opinion.


	4. Of road trips and things

**1x06**

 **Of road trips and things**

"I love you as certain dark things are loved, secretly, between the shadow and the soul."  
― **Stephanie Perkins**

Song muse: Crush by David Archuleta

 **Before we start, for anyone who doesn't know, I don't just write Naley, but I edit videos of them and I would just love if you guys watch the video I had made for this amazing couple. It's on youtube, Loads of angst, so be warned and tell me what you think if you do**

 **watch?v=4-3TfOwVbYw &t=6s**

 **You just add the site "youtube" and "." and "com" and a slash / before the link above and voila.**

 **If the link won't work per rules and stuff, then the video is called "I thought I could fly…so why did I drown" just search for that and type Nathan and Haley alongside it, it should be the first one to appear, my username is cookiexxheart.**

"Nathan?"

Silence dawned hard on both of them, he glanced at the clock on his wall, it was past two in the morning and Nathan realized Haley's voice was laced with sleep. He had freaked out so much over that dream that something inside pushed him towards the phone to call her.

Just hear her voice; he didn't even know what he would say.

He thought hard of something… anything that would justify this phone call that made him look like a madman, not that he didn't already look the part on his own; Nathan was propped up on his bed by his elbows, his dark hair disheveled and stuck to the clamminess of his forehead as trickles of sweat ran down his armpits, chest and the back of his knee, and he was certain his sharp panting and hammering heart could be heard over the phone.

"Nathan?!" asked Haley, her voice a little louder and more worried.

"I don't- I don't know why I called you now" he stammered shakily against the constriction in his throat.

"And I didn't ask" she reassured "Nathan, you can always call me"

She heard his breathing subdue significantly but he still wouldn't tell what was in his heart, the truth was, he wasn't even sure what was in it. Concern started to bubble inside of her at the silence appearing once again, she blurted out "your dad's jerk" instantly her hand flew to her mouth and her eyes widened.

"Like father like son" Nathan laughed tiredly after a few seconds "you have called me a jerk before too"

"No! That's not what I meant, I just-"she sighed, biting her lips "you are nothing like him"

"I am not so sure about that"

She confidently stated "I am. Talk to me"

Nathan screwed his eyes shut, the image of Haley fading away still present in his mind and it frightened him to his very core, he asked with desperation: "actually, can you speak?"

"Me? About what?" she asked.

"Just anything" he tried, slipping under the covers; her voice was like a healing touch to his wounds.

Haley drew a blank as soon as he said that, she couldn't think of anything to say, her mind was still foggy at having been woken up by Nathan's call. And she desperately needed to go back to bed, but the way he sounds, she didn't have the heart to leave for a second, so she started talking about the first thing that came to mind "Okay, when I was young, I was obsessed with Aladdin, you know singing all the songs, sitting on our rug and waiting for it to fly off, so you can imagine my joy when the genie appeared to make my wishes come true"

"The genie" Nathan repeated slowly.

"Yeah" Haley answered with mock enthusiasm "I stood there as he appeared right in the middle of my bedroom, deciding on my three wishes"

"And?" he asked warily.

"Well, it was a faulty outlet that caused an electric fire and I burned down my room deciding on whether to ask for the candy house from Hansel and Gretel or to end poverty, personally, I was leaning more towards the candy house," she said casually.

It took Nathan about two seconds before he started laughing loudly and uncontrollably, folding in half as his face turned beet red and his eyes watered, this time with joy. Haley's face broke into a huge smile when she heard that sound; it would be hard to believe that this was the same guy who was speaking to her a few seconds ago "My parents still tell the story every Thanksgiving, of how my brother Danny dragged me out of my room by my dungaree while I was shouting my three wishes at the smoke"

His laughter had subsided into harsh panting but it was evident he was still smiling "you burned down your house Haley James"

"Just my room" she defended.

Nathan chuckled.

"Ok, it's your turn"

"No" he blurted out "can you just keep talking?"

"Are you getting blackmail material on me, Nathan Scott?"

"Well, you caught me" she giggled and his lips curved into a smile "please, Hales, just talk"

Her voice was exceptionally calming, yet it evoked something inside of him that he couldn't understand, Haley was frightening him more and more by the day, her face popped in his mind all the time, and when he saw her, it felt like a spotlight was shining down on her face, and everyone else had blurred into oblivion. How he had never noticed her before was mind-blowing to him, from those large warm hazel doe eyes to a childish smile larger than life itself, or the way she stood on tiptoes trying to reach for anything taller than her; which were a lot. Nathan's heart would flood with affection and he would instantly want to pick her up. Everything about Haley James was beautiful and pure.

She told him different stories about herself, ecstatic at how intently he was listening, Haley could freely tell him embarrassing memories of her childhood and it felt natural because when he laughed, it was with her, not at her. Haley was in the middle of the story of when she got poison ivy rash while camping when she heard Nathan's heavy breathing, she recognized that sound; it was the same way he breathed when he was sleeping on top of her as they watched- or she watched, 'a midsummer night's dream'.

"Goodnight Nathan" she whispered with a soft smile, hanging up the phone.

###

When Nathan went to school the next morning, he was in a relatively good mood and it was definitely owed to the tiny brunette walking a few steps ahead.

"Haley" he caught up to her in a couple of strides "Hey"

"Hey"

"Coming to the game tonight?"

"Um, I don't know"

After Nathan had slept the night before, she couldn't; her mind was foggy with thoughts of him, it wasn't anything in particular, just fragments of rambunctious laughter or intense gazes or accidental touches; she tossed and turned all night, trying to will away those images, however she wasn't able to.

He tilted his head slightly "you should come, we always beat the crap out of the Pickerington hicks"

"They are called the hicks?" she asked, bemused.

"No, but they should be, the place is all pickup trucks and mullets" he said and Haley laughed. Then Nathan's face changed into a more serious and sincere one, hoping she would actually agree "it's definitely worth the road trip. I'll look for you."

"Alright" Haley said softly as he walked away, it took her a couple of seconds to snap out of her daze and walk like a normal functioning human being.

The bus ride wasn't so terrible and she had a friend with her; Marvin Mcfadden who was better known as mouth. They sat side by side on the stands, as she looked through a magazine.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, from the stinks of Pickerington where the pirates always suck and the livestock is nervous. I am Mouth Mcfadden and sitting next to me is Miss. Haley James. Haley, how do you see the game tonight?" Haley's head snapped up at the mention of her name, Mouth was talking into a little recorder at hand, living out a dream of being a sports announcer; he moved it closer to her lips

"I'd rather not be associated with your lunacy mouth"

He quickly covered the recording seemingly a little offended.

"You are grouchy" said Mouth, removing his thumb off the record button.

She gave a huff of laughter, deciding to focus on what was happening on court instead. Nathan quickly caught her eyes amongst the crowd; she looked more real than his dream, though just as pretty, her chin was resting on her hands and Nathan could see the bracelet he gave her giving a pop of color to the olive cardigan she wore; he stood a little proud at the fact that she still wore it, giving her a flirtatious nod; in her own way, Haley was incredibly hot. She raised her eyebrows in reciprocation, beaming.

Taking off towards the game once again, Haley tried averting her gaze from Nathan, she pretended to read again, but all the words of the magazine jumbled together and the article on Imperialism didn't seem as appealing anymore. Instead her eyes would automatically give side glances to the court where the boys had taken off their baggy shirts and ran around in their navy blue jerseys.

Nathan found himself to be distracted, his moves miscalculated and uncoordinated; he ran after a Pickerington player and knocked the ball clumsily out of their hands, before he could score, earning his team a foul.

If only Lucas had played his zone better, then he wouldn't have screwed up the shot. Nathan walked towards him in irritation.

"Hey, why don't you try putting your hands up on defense, alright?" Nathan had moved closer so he was nose to nose with Lucas.

"Why don't you try not getting beat?"

"Why don't I just beat your ass?" retorted Nathan, moving away, moping with his hands on his hips "moron. Keep it up, punk"

The Pickerington scored a free throw.

"Hey, you gonna talk or you gonna play, daddy's boy?"

The idea of Lucas even breathing provoked Nathan endlessly, looking back at Haley and jibed "Hey, Haley's looking pretty fine tonight, right? I can't wait to get with that."

He nodded cockily, but when he noticed Haley nodding towards them with a smile, a pang of guilt twisted right in his guts and he hated Lucas even more for it. _Whatever_ , _the prick deserved it._

They scored another free throw, and the game resumed.

"So, I saw Nathan in the shower" Lucas said to Peyton who was standing next to Brooke with their cheering uniforms "it's no wonder you broke up with him"

Fury and humiliation coursed through Nathan's veins as Brooke laughed next to him, gone were the cockiness and snide remarks; the only thing that was left was pure hatred for his half-brother. Nathan glared with eyebrows lowered dangerously as though beams of destruction were about to shoot out of them and his lips set in a tight line that it seemed he couldn't separate them. His vision narrowed and all he could see was Lucas. Swinging his hand back, with all the strength he could muster, Nathan hurled the basketball at Lucas; it hit him between the shoulder blades.

As whistles blew loudly, Lucas had turned around, running towards Nathan with ferocious speed, both boys refusing to break eye contact. Lucas' body collided with his and they fell to the ground.

Haley jumped up with the rest of the crowd in shock, they were both mingled together, punching, pawing and attempting to hurt one another any sort of way possible, Nathan hadn't even felt Brooke screaming in pain underneath him as both their weights crushed her. He was about to catch Lucas' throat between his fingers when Lucas was lifted off of him.

"They are on the same team" shouted their coach, Whitey, when the referee kicked them out of the game.

Once they were off the court, attempts to kill the other person subsided, however the loathing only grew.

Haley stood there dumbfounded by their sudden outburst, her mouth agape.

On the ride home, Whitey was beyond pissed, even though the ravens had won; lucky for Nathan and Lucas' necks. The embarrassment and rage their coach felt was apparent in his beady eyes and the bright shade of pink his beefy neck had turned. When both started getting a scolding from their coach, who wanted them to learn to work together on court, Nathan made the mistake of saying "can't see that happening Whitey". In a jiffy, the bus had halted and they were kicked out; leaving Nathan's phone and their wallets behind. They were more than thirty miles from their homes, in a deserted road where cars rarely drove by.

Nathan was indignant of course and it didn't help the boys' relationship in the slightest. After a back and forth of some rude remarks, Nathan asked: "So what the hell do we do now?"

"We start walking"

He clenched his fist, following the blond.

"You know, we wouldn't be out here if you hadn't joined the team"

"No! We wouldn't be out here if you weren't such a jackass about me joining the team"

"Why do you want my life so bad anyway?"

There was obvious bafflement in Nathan's voice and Lucas couldn't help but laugh.

"Dude, don't flatter yourself" replied Lucas "you are the last person I would wanna trade places with"

"Oh, yeah" Nathan looked startled for a second "well, all I know is that you came out of nowhere and started grabbing everything you could from me, my game, my girl…"

"What about you?" Lucas stopped in his tracks "I'll bet your grades sucked before you met me and I didn't see you going to Haley back then"

The sound of Haley's name mentioned in such context made Nathan's insides churn, he felt offended that Lucas would think he would hurt her; even if that were his plan to begin with, it was a done for issue that he had given up the minute he spoke to her, the reason he still hung out with her was because every aspect in his life would be dreary without her existence in it, he moved forward and asked "who said what me and Haley have was about grades?"

Before Lucas could retort, the sound of a revving engine snapped them out of their argument as a car stopped ahead of them and the door opened.

"Want a ride?" someone called from inside. Nathan shrugged, smiling when he saw that Lucas seemed hesitant: _Coward._ As the younger one walked towards the car, Lucas tried to warn "I wouldn't take that ride if I was you"

"You are not me. You never will be" he responded in contempt. Strutting over to the car, Nathan had barely laid a hand on the roof, peeking inside with a smirk when he was pulled roughly inside, just as he caught a glimpse of their Pickerington jackets.

 _Perfect!_

Seated between two of the large hicks in the back couch, Nathan looked ahead with a scowl. The car backed up with a screech and stopped right in front of Lucas, he knew that an 'I told you so' was coming up, right before he ran away from it all.

"Two little ravens for the price of one. Get in or the superstar dies" said the one on his right, Sparing a glance at Lucas with annoyance, Nathan noticed that the guy seemed scared a little there.

Nathan tried to recall their antiques, he had done them before after all; there was the usual beating up, stranding him without a phone or a wallet (that was already going for him), doing something humiliating like… Nathan's eyebrows shot up when Lucas got into the car, voluntarily, and even went higher when Lucas not much as gave him a pissed off look; instead both their fury seemed to be aimed towards their kidnappers.

###

Haley, her mind wandering to what might have caused the commotion, had spent a good time hidden from view in one of the bathrooms. She had thought of calling Lucas but decided against it; with everything that has been going on, she couldn't help feeling it was her fault. Perhaps it was Peyton's fault as well, as she recalled, Lucas said something to Peyton and right after Nathan tackled him. She knew that both boys had strong feelings for her and they were well aimed. Walking outside towards the buses, Haley noticed Peyton standing there; slender of body with tousled and untamed blonde curls.

"What are you still doing here?"

"I am thinking of transferring" both girls smiled awkwardly, and Haley asked "what's your excuse?"

Peyton nodded towards the clinic's door.

"Brooke, she has been in there forever"

Almost on cue, Brooke Davis came running ecstatically towards them, with a shrill "hey", open arms and a big smile, throwing herself in Peyton's arms. Haley stood there uncomfortably.

"This is my best friend in the whole wide world; don't you think she is pretty?" Brooke said to the med-student who attended to her.

"What is this?" asked Peyton accusingly.

"She found some pills on the floor, she will be fine, just let her sleep it off"

As the college boy walked away, Brooke shouted "Hey, call me" as she waved her hand and tried following him, in her wasted state however she couldn't walk steadily and fell right into Haley's arms, who stumbled slightly at the sudden attack. Peyton moved quickly taking a hold of her best friend, and the beautiful intoxicated girl stood between them laughing idiotically.

"Listen, could you keep an eye on her? Make sure she doesn't do anything stupid" asked Peyton "Just bring her outside in a minute while I get the car"

"Yeah, sure" answered Haley, scrunching up her face in disgust as Brooke blew raspberries dangerously close to her ears. Peyton smiled sympathetically, nodding a quick 'thank you' and walking away.

"What's your name?"

"Haley"

Brooke giggled "Nathan gave you the nod. Are you having seeeeeexxxxxxxxxx?"

She had hissed that last line and Haley rolled her eyes "I am tutoring him"

"In bed!" she cocked an eyebrow.

"Okay, let's go out"

"Oh! pretty" announced Brooke, when she caught reflection of herself in a window as they walked outside, still hanging on to Haley's neck for support "we should totally hang out more often, what's your name?"

"Haley" she repeated slowly. _The girl was hammered._

"Yeah, I don't like that name" she said and Haley rolled her eyes slightly "let's call you, Brooke…. Hi! Friend"

She pecked Peyton, who had come around the car to help them, on her cheek. Both girls pushed her on the back couch.

"Thanks" said Peyton to Haley

"Sure" she laughed slightly, looking at Brooke "I'll see you guys later"

"Where's your ride?"

"Ah, I am gonna take the last fan bus back"

"They just left"

"That is perfect" Brooke exclaimed loudly "Brookie can come with us"

Haley explained to Peyton; who was eyeing her best friend oddly: "Yeah, she named me Brooke"

The blonde looked amused.

"Peyton, can't she come? Please! Peyton, pleaseeee" nagged Peyton, pouting.

"Just don't touch the stereo" she ordered "Or, we will have a problem"

Haley begrudgingly got into the car, and Brooke started chanting "we are going on a road trip…. we are going on a road trip", the tutor sat back against her seat, starting stoically ahead and resisting the urge to speak out her annoyance, normally a car ride such as that one would have been a dream come true, being one of the popular girls, Brooke's friend, doing all the cool kids' stuff, but this was far from what she had imagined.

Brooke started waving her pompoms in her face, still chanting her stupid song as Haley sputtered and spit.

###

At gun point, Lucas and Nathan stripped to their boxer shorts, the Pickerington hicks, or as they were more commonly known, thing, thing one and thing three had made them take off their attires, after that they wrote 'Ravens' on Lucas' back and 'sucks' on Nathan's.

They were at a gas station where their kidnappers had demanded they buy a list of items for them at the convenience store, intending on humiliating both brothers; and it was working. Nathan's face heated up in embarrassment when everyone's eyes turned towards them and he heard laughter, ducking his head, and walking towards the shelves with Lucas. He didn't even notice a girl on the side eyeing him with lust.

"This is total crap" Nathan said between gritted teeth "these guys are morons, not killers. I bet it's not even a real gun"

"Let's just play the game, get out clothes and get home" said Lucas calmly, and Nathan exhaled, trying to calm the fire of shame coursing through his body "Okay, we need two bottles of spring feminine cleansers"

"Great. A pair of douche bags"

Lucas snickered, nodding his head "a case of beer and we are out of here"

"What? How are we gonna pull that off?" Nathan asked confusedly.

"Would you card us?"

Two semi-naked guys in a convenience store at a gas station with writing on their bags who were buying feminine cleansers, Nathan curled his lips in annoyance and walked towards the fridge, defeated.

"I didn't think so" said Lucas.

###

"Brooke! Stop"

Peyton said for the thousandth time as her friend flailed the pompoms between them. Haley's temper was wearing thin, yet she still bit her tongue because they were literally in the middle of nowhere. Then Brooke gasped at the brightness of an idea that had popped in her head, she threw the pompoms out the window clapping idiotically. Haley didn't have time to rejoice as Brooke suddenly leaned over between them and she sunk further into the chair.

"Don't you two like the same guys? Or guy or something?" asked Brooke.

Haley tried to smile it off "I am just tutoring him that's all"

Peyton asked "so, you aren't into him? Cause he seems to be into you"

It was a crazy idea; yet, Haley's heart couldn't help but skip a beat involuntarily.

"He gave her the nod" agreed Brooke, looking out the back window of the car for her pompoms.

"Just be careful" said Peyton softly and Haley barely hid her scoff, feeling defensive of the one she was tutoring and who she knew held nothing in his heart of what he showed everyone else, she tried to change the subject.

"Well, what about you and Lucas?"

Peyton muttered "What about us?"

"Oh, come on tortured artist meets tortured athlete. Talk about your obvious attraction" teased Haley.

A beeping sounded at that very moment.

"I hear birds" said Brooke, looking the ceiling, half expecting tweety to be perched on a branch.

"Ugh! Unbelievable! Brooke, did you not think to put gas in the car?" moaned Peyton.

Brooke leaned forward facing an incredulous looking Haley and said expectantly "answer the question, Brooke"

She narrowed her eyes at the cheerleader. Her annoyance had outgrown her fear at Brooke antics as Peyton attempted to call for help but there was no signal. Not a car had passed by them all this time and the tank of gas in the trunk of the car was empty.

"I saw a gas station a few miles back" volunteered Haley "if I am not back in an hour tell my mom I loved her"

"Don't you mean, Nathan?" asked Brooke cheekily, rolling the name Nathan on her tongue.

Haley shot her a dirty look as she laughed menacingly.

"I will go with you" said Peyton and Brooke gasped.

"What about me?"

In an instant, Haley and Peyton had pushed Brooke inside the car, locking it, and walking away.

"I could suffocate in here, guys" the screamed banging on the back window.

"You did crack a window, right?" asked Haley nonchalantly and the girls snickered a little, with Brooke's pleas falling on deaf ears, there was no way they would take her on a walk for miles in her state and her nonexistent filter.

Having spent most of her life hearing about Peyton from Lucas had painted a picture different from spending those tutoring lessons hearing about her from Nathan. Both boys were fond of her, that was for sure, but Lucas had painted her out to be a celestial being; even when she was entirely rude to him, he still envisioned her as this precious angel from above, on the other hand, Nathan described her the girl he was dating and whom he liked, nothing more or less.

But having sat with Peyton, she just seemed to be oozing a cool vibe, like rockers from the eighties, she was also a really good friend from the looks of it, however nothing gave her any indication that she was hung up on Nathan. As a matter of fact, Nathan seemed to be clinging on to frail ropes in that relationship, it was almost funny how the argument here was: who seemed less invested. Peyton had even made it a point to tell her Nathan seemed into her, a probability Haley saw unlikely and said that she should be careful, twice.

Haley and Peyton had been walking in silence and the question bounced around her tongue a little, not daring to come out, finally she gathered up the courage against her dried up mouth and asked "What did you mean before? About Nathan when you said be careful"

"I just know him, that's all"

But she didn't. It was impossible, at least in Haley's eyes, to know Nathan Scott and not like him. Her lips curled up in unjustified wrath a little, before she smiled sardonically "said the ex-girlfriend"

Peyton stared at her a little and finally said "look, we were crazy with drama but I am over it" Haley nodded and she continued "he is not a compete waste, he just- he is really threatened by Lucas, it can always be a big mind game, that's how he works… Do you like him?"

The tone was similar to that of children in grade school, when they would tease each other about crushes, except she knew Peyton wasn't teasing and a blush started to creep in Haley's cheeks; thankful for the darkness at that hour of the night. She tried to stammer an answer casually "oh, we just… talk about stuff, you know what I mean?"

"Like what?" Peyton pressed on.

"Like school or his dad…" _or you,_ Haley left that last part out.

Peyton groaned in annoyance, throwing her head back "man, Danny sure did a number on this boy right?"

 _More than you could imagine._

"Yeah, both of them"

"So, you didn't answer my question" Peyton almost concealed a mischievous smile, _back to the fifth grade_ "Do you like him?"

Of course she likes him, never in her life had she felt that way for anyone else, his face haunts her dream and waking thoughts, her stomach flutters and twists just by looking at his face and any attack on him felt like a personal attack on her; she wanted to hurt anyone who had ever hurt him and then wrap him up in a safe warm cocoon where he couldn't get hurt, but their situation wouldn't allow her do anything but suffer from afar, Haley was literally talking to his ex-girlfriend, whom he wanted to get back together with and that wasn't the only hurdle "it-it doesn't matter" she stammered, stomping on her feelings as usual "I mean- it will be too weird around Lucas"

"That's his problem" said Peyton "you got a life to live too"

It wasn't a problem till this, Haley would gladly give away all she had for her loved ones, the idea of going against it was absurd, even if it was killing her "it just seems kinda selfish"

"Why? Did he ask you if he could go out with me?"

Haley turned to Peyton in surprise "did he ask you out?"

It was Peyton's turn to feel embarrassed a little; she avoided looking at Haley and incredulously and laughingly said "No! That's not the point. He wouldn't ask permission, so why should you?"

Trying to entirely divert the subject, "would you say yes if he asked you out?" asked Haley.

"It depends" said Peyton after a long pause "what song is playing? Am I in a good mode? Is he smiling when he asks or is he doing the goofy brooding thing that he does?"

"Oh, you know, I think he is definitely doing the brooding thing"

"He does that all the time"

They both laughed a little.

"It's strange. The night away from school, it feels like you and I actually live on the same planet" said Haley.

"Life plays tricks on you like that" Peyton said and for the first time Haley thought that in some alternate universe, they could be good friends. After more silence, Peyton asked "would you say yes if Nathan asked you out?"

"It-it doesn't matter" stammered Haley in a high-pitched voice "he doesn't like me, he is really into you"

"For a tutor, you aren't very observant"

Haley sighed and repeated "look, he is really into you, and he regrets what he did"

"Wow" breathed Peyton.

"What?"

"You really _do_ like him" said Peyton, looking at Haley earnestly and the tutor felt her face heat up "anyway I wouldn't take him back if I wanted"

"Why? You know he has really-"

Peyton raised a hand to interrupt her "Haley, I wouldn't take him back after I have seen the way he looks at you."

Haley's heart hammered harder "He doesn't- "

"Yes, he does. You are just never looking, it's like- like-"

She snapped her fingers, trying to find suitable words for it, Haley asked softly "like what?"

"Like life starts and ends with you"

The girl was hit by the intensity of her answer, she expected something else entirely "Umm, we should be at the gas station now"

After Haley changed the subject, they stopped talking about it all together, Peyton could sense how uncomfortable and scared the girl was, but it was the truth and she had to say it. Nathan did have strong feelings for Haley, that was plain to see and though they were together at some point, she felt okay about it. She actually felt glad.

On the other hand, Haley's heart never seized trying to race her mind. The way Peyton talked about Nathan, it couldn't be the same Nathan who said he wanted to get back together with his girlfriend.

###

They stood shoulder to shoulder; clad only their basketball shorts in the middle of a clearing, across from their kidnappers. Their rules were quite simple; both boys would proceed to beat each other until one was left standing. The winner would get his clothes and a ride home.

Nathan took in his surroundings. Sure enough, they were in the middle of nowhere, the option of making a run for it was nearly impossible, it didn't matter that he could sprint better than anyone in the team, he couldn't possibly beat a speeding car, his second option would be to start beating the things; that had a 50/50 chance of ending in his favor because even if they were morons, they looked fairly bulky and the third option was actually fighting with Lucas and getting a ride home; he knew his chance of winning was pretty good, he had two inches on the guy and was definitely more muscular. Lucas' strength was in the force of a punch, but he knew with the proper focus and element of surprise he could bring the blond down.

For a split second, Nathan had considered it. But the idea was pushed from his head as he thought of Lucas voluntarily getting in that car with him, he couldn't leave the guy in the middle of nowhere, beaten and naked; even if he did despise him.

"Alright you can screw yourself" Lucas said, moving forward "because there is no way in hell that the two of us are going to fight"

It became clear that if a choice wasn't made that both of them would get clobbered. So Nathan moved on instinct, doing what he decided was best. As Lucas turned on his heel to face him, Nathan delivered a punch straight to his left cheek; Lucas stumbled, his mind registering the betrayal in the midst of the cheers from the things.

"Maybe we are"

Lucas charged forward like a bull; his head lowered, in less than a second, he had brought Nathan down, slamming him to the hard ground; Nathan groaned from the impact on his back; he had greatly underestimated his opponent. He pushed Lucas off with as much force as he could muster, pushing himself on all fours, before he could get to his feet, Lucas had delivered a kick to his back, sending him sprawling to the ground once again.

Swearing under his breath, Nathan took hold of Lucas ankle and brought him down, using the distraction to get to his feet, still, his mind was in a haze and Lucas had managed to get up almost instantly, delivering two consecutive punches to Nathan's face, that was when Nathan took a hold of his waist and with all the strength he could muster threw the blond against the car's hood.

His vision was clearing significantly and he finally had the upper hand, even as Lucas attempted to kick him off he could see that he was growing weaker by the second and Nathan still had some good fight in him.

"This is great" taunted Nathan, seeing the grimace on Lucas' face "not only do I get to kick your ass but you get thirty miles to think about it"

Lucas leapt up, delivering a punch to Nathan's jaw once again, at that point his face was throbbing, he then threw Lucas over his shoulder, he was so skinny that his weight had barely registered and dashed forward, slamming him onto the hood of the car once again, this time attempting to pin him down with an arm to his neck. He just needed five more seconds.

"What the hell are you doing, man?" choked Lucas, his palm pushing on Nathan's face in an attempt to get him off "we should be fighting them"

"You want it?" Nathan called, getting the hicks riled up, at that point they were too distracted and hyped up from the fight cheering and whooping.

"Yeah!"

Nathan let go of Lucas' neck in a second, maneuvering his way quickly and reaching inside the driver's window of the car, pulling the keys from the ignition and jiggling them with a cocky smile.

"Whoa, whoa, wait, wait, wait" the hicks shouted, looking both shocked and enraged.

"You okay?" Nathan asked a recovering Lucas.

"Yeah" he answered, wiping the blood on his chin with the back of his hand.

"Pickerington morons" Nathan said condescendingly, twisting the keychain in his fingers.

"Give us the keys" said thing.

Lucas responded "give us out clothes"

Thing shrugged "fine" throwing a sock at Lucas.

"You guys wanna play games, huh? I got a little game for you, it's called keys for clothes, you give us a piece of our clothes, and we give you a key"

"No deal"

"Fine," said Nathan confidently, about to throw the keys far away "we were walking anyways"

"Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait" screamed thing's minions, thing one and thing three "we will deal"

"Forget it. I want to walk" said thing with a threatening gleam in his widened eyes.

"It's dark," said thing three

"Man, seriously" pushed thing one.

Nathan could see their leader was losing his argument "alright, give him his sweats"

Begrudgingly they threw the sweats and Lucas said "that's worth the house key"

"Hey, keep them coming"

It went on for a while, Nathan asking for an article of Lucas' clothing, then throwing a key, then he would ask for his own clothes, and so it went on, till there was only one key left, the car key.

"The last key" he jiggled it in front of their eyes, still shirtless "you got one last thing left"

As the thing said "give us the car key and we will give you the shirt" Nathan had quickly and secretly unhooked the key from the chain, placing it in the palm of his enclosed hand.

'I can live without my shirt" said Nathan, tossing the empty keychain away to the dismay of the things, and took off sprinting with Lucas after saying "have fun walking."

After finding a good hiding spot, where they were sure the things wouldn't find them, they crouched down, watching from between some bushes.

"I can't believe you sucker punched me" Lucas whispered loudly.

Nathan gave a breathy laugh "I had to. Got us out of there didn't it?"

Lucas suddenly felt conscious of how biting the weather was when he saw the hair on Nathan's arm stand and how blue his fingernails were. Nathan had made sure Lucas had gotten all of his clothes before, and with that, Lucas felt sympathy and thankfulness. Taking off his own sweatshirt and leaving himself in a t-shirt, he handed it to Nathan, who took it with a smile.

"So, what's your master plan you genius? Huh?" he asked as Nathan wore the sweater "hotwire the car?"

"Actually we are not gonna have to," Nathan said, a smile playing on the corner of his lips, as he paused for dramatic effect, before lifting the key for Lucas to see "those idiots are gonna flip out when they find the keychain with no car key"

Lucas smiled, looking at his brother, for the first time ever, with admiration and pride. Nathan continued "so we'll get the car, we'll drive in town, we'll find a phone, then we will ditch it"

"What if they report it stolen?" asked Lucas, remembering how the people at the gas station could identify them to the cops.

"Well, I kinda think that the cops got the license plate number earlier, don't you?"

"Yes, but they didn't see who was driving the car. Think about it, if they pull us over they can pin everything on us"

Nathan, always one to jump head first then deal with the consequences later, argued "why don't we sit here and talk about it, okay? Got any better ideas?"

"I will drive" Lucas said, giving up.

"No, I will drive"

They sneakily ran towards the abandoned car, the things were alerted as the engine roared into life and he shouted "Pickerington sucks" feeling proud at Lucas' smile of approval. Pressing on the gas pedal however, something was terribly wrong, the car wouldn't budge. Nathan tried repeatedly, looking back, the tires were halfway down in mud, spluttering it everywhere.

 _Shit shit shit._

The pickerington's were coming towards them.

"Bail" they said in unison and jumped out of the car, running at full speed, this time their necks were surely to be wrung.

Lucas and Nathan ran until their lungs couldn't take it, they stopped at a spot they deemed well concealed, still watching out for the things who were now searching for them.

"Still out there"

"They will get bored eventually" said Nathan, still beating himself up over leaving the key in the car.

"So that was a pretty good move with the car keys"

Nathan chuckled a little, not used to hearing that kind of encouragement, certainly not from a family member, not that Lucas was family "Yeah, doesn't change the fact that my dad is gonna kill me for getting kicked out of that game" Lucas felt a pang of guilt and Nathan looked at him slightly reprimand as he went on "you should consider yourself lucky sometimes"

"Lucking out of a dad?"

"At least this one"

He told Lucas the story of when he was playing little league baseball, he was around eleven and though his dad's main focus was basketball he had decided baseball would teach him to keep his attention on the ball, so of course he was the coach, now Nathan was fairly good, not as good as he was with basketball but he managed, of course that wasn't good enough for Dan who stared at him disapprovingly; Nathan could feel his eyes burning into the back of his neck more aggressively than the scolding sun. He yearned to make his dad feel proud and standing in front of Billy Lyons, didn't make that easier, Billy was great, the best hitter he had seen play little leagues and he knew he didn't stand a chance, so he lobbed four pitches outside the strike zone, earning himself a base on balls. At that moment, Dan called for a time out, and Nathan figured he had done something right; his dad was going to be proud, instead Dan held his arms really tight leaving bruises that stayed on for weeks and kicked him in his ass so hard, right in front of everybody, then ordered him to sit on the bench between gritted teeth. Nathan remembered how humiliated he felt, and was thankful that all of his teammates were decent enough to pretend they hadn't seen it happen.

"… then he brought Stevie Planking to pitch, sat me on the bench and never mentioned it again" Nathan finished.

"That sucks" said Lucas, whose mother had never been anything other than caring and warm, even when she was firm.

"Yeah," said Nathan, with a melancholic smile "so, just think about that next time you are feeling sorry for yourself"

"Hey, listen, I am sorry I told Peyton you had a small penis" he mumbled sheepishly and Nathan chuckled.

"You were the one looking at it" Lucas rolled his eyes and Nathan went on "Although, you couldn't have possibly been looking at it, because you would have seen it's-"

"Ok, enough"

Nathan laughed some more, then his expression turned serious "I am sorry too, for what I said about Haley, she is actually pretty awesome"

Lucas stared at him for a few seconds, finally deciding he was sincere "Yeah, she is." Then looking back he said "Man it's been like what? Twenty minutes? Think they're coming back?"

Nathan laughed again.

"What?" Lucas asked.

"Thing, thing one and thing three"

Lucas joined the laughter "well, yeah, he was the third"

"Yea"

"Hey! Look" said Lucas, "what are we doing hiding from these idiots anyway? Look, I can hold my own and I know you can throw a pretty damn good punch. I say let's take these fools on"

"Alright I am in for that" said Nathan, and for the first time, both brothers were ready to fight, not each other, but as a team.

As they walked together, Lucas stated "So this Haley thing… you know, for some reason she feels like you're not full of crap. Don't take advantage of that."

"I am not going to" Nathan confidently stated, and he truly meant it.

"I know you are not, because if you do, you are going to live to regret it"

"Bring it on" said Nathan, though his tone conveyed nothing of a challenge, he was actually glad Haley had someone like Lucas who looked out for her, he sighed and went on "Hey, listen. Look, man, you didn't have to get in that car when those guys grabbed me, especially after you warned me not to"

"Right, whatever, you know the way I see it, I mean, if they would've taken you out, who the hell else am I gonna have to fight with, right?"

"Same person I have."

Lucas isn't honest though, because when they had grabbed Nathan, he felt scared and it was due to the fact that some brotherly feelings had woken up from hibernation, protective instincts had kicked in, but of course admitting that would be as impossibly as the Baltic and the North sea merging.

 **Ok, so this was dripping with cheesiness, I am talking Gouda and Cheddar, however I would like to admit that the Aladdin story happened to me when I was younger except we controlled the fire before it burned down the room. The next chapter is already halfway done, however since it doesn't have much Naley, or ways to incorporate Naley its kind of a slow run. I am really excited for when they actually get together and all the drama happens, because guess what, I have already written some parts for the future, especially episodes (2x16 and 9x08) so you can imagine the heartache I felt. Please tell me what you think, don't sleep on those reviews because I seriously feel really motivated knowing you are reading and I love to hear your criticism so if something seems wrong or out of character or something. Please don't hesitate to write exactly how you are feeling. Also, press that follow button, you never know when the next update could be, thank you and much love.**


	5. Of passed notes and confessed feelings

1x07

 **Of Passed notes and confessed feelings**

Honestly reviews make me so happy, so hit that review button and tell me what you think. After reading of course.

Song Muse: Happy ending by Mika

"I wanted a perfect ending. Now I've learned, the hard way, that some poems don't rhyme, and some stories don't have a clear beginning, middle, and end."  
— **Gilda Radner**

"Hey Luke, guess what? I…"

"So, Nathan is a really great guy and…"

"Hmmm, Lucas, so you remember how I said I was only tutoring Nathan? Well, I have some news…"

"Ok, I know this might make you upset and our friendship means the world to me but I like Nathan a lot…"

"Do you remember Brutus from the Julius Caesar play we have given you? Boy, do I have a surprise for you…"

"Ugghhh, ok, umm, you know we have been friends since we were kids and we tell each other everything… well, I guess, no…"

"Nathan's been treating you better, yeah, he has really changed, hasn't he?"

Haley, walking towards Lucas' place, thought of different ways she could break the news to her best friend, the words twisted and turned in her mind, yet all the scenarios ended badly. Suppose Lucas didn't have a problem with her liking Nathan, the possibility of Nathan even reciprocating those feelings was impossible.

It was the deeply rooted friendship that ultimately won the debate on whether or not to keep it a secret; she had to tell Luke.

Hoping that ripping off the band-aid and exposing the wound to Lucas would be easier than slowly wallowing in her own misery, Haley swiftly skipped to his door and tapped on the door. She bounced on the balls of her feet impatiently, her eyes aimlessly looking around as her body tried to keep that mind of her occupied before it blew up from the over thinking she had been doing.

Almost instantly Lucas opened up the door and she steadied herself.

"Haley" he asked confused "What are you doing here?"

One glance at the fig colored tie he was wearing, and Haley had taken off her denim jacket "first, I am saving you from that tie. Second, we need to talk"

"Well, can we do both at the same time?"

"Yeah, okay, you are not gonna like this. In fact, you are gonna hate this" she told Lucas who was looking at her jumpy form with apprehension. Haley swallowed while rubbing the tie she had chosen in her fingers and then putting it around her neck "but I feel that I should tell you in the interest of full friendship disclosure"

"Yea, right" he laughed a little "What could be worse than you tutoring Nathan, eh?"

Haley said nothing but she gave him a pointed look and a little tense sigh escaped her lips. Lucas took one look at her and knew. If only things had stayed the same, his smile faltered and he concluded "You like him"

"Luke! Don't freak out on me, okay? I can't help it anymore than you can" she defended.

"I don't like him" Lucas said, irritated.

"I am talking about you and Peyton. We don't decide who we like, we just…. It happens"

"Do you know what you are getting yourself into?" he asked in disbelief, Haley is always seeing the best in everyone, which is great mostly, but Nathan- son of Dan Scott…

"I-I am not getting myself into anything" stammered Haley "I am thinking about maybe getting into something that is never going to happen anyway, so…"

Lucas interrupted, his voice rising ever so slightly "what could you possibly like in the guy, huh?"

Haley struggled to explain, she liked everything about Nathan, it was almost ironic, even traits she would've despised normally, antics and behaviors that made her roll her eyes before suddenly seemed so endearing "D-different stuff. We connect, yes, he can be a total ass sometimes but I am telling you, it's just a defense mechanism, he really opens up with me Lucas…"

His firm eyes smote her in ways they never had before; they showed betrayal, yet they also held a note of devotion and love. Her brother, that was the only way to describe him, was scared for her, worried that she would end up with a broken heart and he wouldn't be able to fix the pieces "you know how I feel about him"

"And I am sorry for that. I am" her voice sounded so soft, and Lucas flared his nose, defeated.

"But I get it, alright, I understand"

She sighed in relief, a hint of a smile playing on her lips "okay"

"Just do me a favor, okay?"

"Be careful?" she stated, smiling sarcastically and Lucas nodded, his face only showing concern then "I wish everybody would stop saying that"

"I am serious; I know what guys like him are…"

"Guys like him?" Haley felt affronted "Lucas, you don't know him. if you just got to know him, you wouldn't say that. He is good. He has the kindest heart. I am telling you Luke, there is nothing about him to be feared. It is all a facade"

"Haley, listen…"

But she continued, her indignant voice rising ever so slightly and her words rushing together in a ramble "and yes, he does some horrible things; beyond horrible, but he regrets them instantly and he is trying to change. Who he is… that's Dan… it's completely his dad… you have Karen and Nathan doesn't have anyone to actually care for him, I mean all Dan cares about is basketball"

"Hales"

"And Deb is never around, and he just deals with all of it alone and his girlfriend likes you and you took his position in the team and I know it's not your fault but would you put yourself in his shoes I mean after all of this, and I just want to comf…"

"Haley" Lucas screamed, finally stopping her rambling which at that point didn't make any sense "breath"

She hadn't intended to confess what she hid in her heart since her first tutoring session with Nathan, Lucas was pinching the bridge of his nose with eyes scrunched shut.

"I was trying to say" he started, sighing, as he looked Haley in the eyes "you might be right"

Haley looked slightly shocked "What?"

"I don't think he is as bad as he seems. I still don't like him" he raised a finger to clarify "but for a minute there he had my back"

Bewildered, Haley sat down with Lucas taking a place beside her; he hurriedly went into the story of when they were kicked off the bus because soon he would have to run off to the party held by non-other than Dan Scott, where Nathan would be.

As Haley listened, she searched her best friend's face for similarities between himself and his younger brother. Before she had met Nathan, blue was just blue, even when she saw it in her best friend's eyes; it evoked nothing within her, However, Nathan's eyes were an entirely different story, they haunted her dreams and thoughts, her mind memorizing their moods and changes, she saw them all around; in the sky on a clear sunny day, a picture of the serene ocean around a tropical island she had dreamt of visiting one day, morning glories and cornflowers with morning dew, she saw everything beautiful in them. Every time she saw Nathan, a feverish sensation engulfed her very being like the flames had engulfed Rome leaving it in ruins, whenever she thought of him, her heart would instantly attempt to escape her chest, like wild beasts, undoubtedly trying to follow him until she was left in an absolute bliss of pain.

Like? What a mediocre word that was. This couldn't be described so mildly.

###

The Scotts were what they would call the blue-blooded family of Tree hill, wealth and status, so Karen being human would sometimes feel envious and downright angry seeing Deborah Scott in her Chanel pantsuit prancing to the airport for another one of her business trips, the huge mansion of theirs being renovated or their son Nathan who was merely a kid at the time walk to school with a lunchbox that cost more than Lucas' entire collection of school supplies which she had to save up for. The abandoned pregnant teenager side of her was jealous that some people could get by so easily while she faced failure and heartbreak, however the motherly side knew that having Lucas was the best thing that has ever happened to her and that no amount of money could give the Scott's a happy warm house.

They were invited to the Scott's house for a boisterous celebration; Lucas, Keith and Karen, they weren't going to go after Dan's half-assed invite, and a disastrous double date they had with the Scott's, however his wife had come to her café and insisted.

Karen liked to think of them as malicious royalty; it was easier, so to tell her she would be standing in Deb Scott's kitchen, actually enjoying the woman's company, she would've been absolutely bemused. However, fate had a funny way of putting things together. So when the cakes that were meant for their party weren't delivered, good natured Karen offered to help and call Haley to come over with some deserts from the café.

"Haley! Is she a tutor by any chance?"

"Yes, she is. Why?"

"Oh no, no, it's a small world." Replied Deb "she must be the girl who is helping Nathan"

"Huh, she must be" said Karen slowly, recalling Haley's hesitance to teach a certain student. "I will call her now"

Deb helped her to the kitchen's phone and after the one minute conversation with Haley where she told the girl what to being; Karen hung up and turned around to find Deb with a smile on her face and a far off look. Unsure of how to snap her out of it, she cleared her throat loudly.

"Oh sorry" Deb was snapped out of her throat "I was just thinking about something that happened a while ago, so I came home and Nathan and Haley are in front of the TV, watching a movie for school apparently"

Karen smiled "Yes, Haley is a wonderful tutor"

"Unfortunately, my son isn't the best student, he had fallen asleep" said Deb and Karen huffed a laugh "the poor girl was flustered when she saw me, but to make it worse, as soon as I walked in, she was about to stand up and shake my hand when Nathan fell over her on the couch, I don't know if her face was so red because she was embarrassed or because she was struggling to get up from under him"

"She must have been petrified" Karen groaned, though she laughed.

"I had to leave so her face would return to its normal color, and also because I was two seconds away from breaking in laughter"

"Well, she is on her way here right now with the desserts"

"Oh no!" face palmed Deb and chuckled, along with Karen, and then she noticed someone over her shoulder "Hi honey! We were just talking about you. Karen, this is my son, Nathan."

Karen turned to see a tall boy, Lucas' age, donned in a blue shirt and a black blazer, looking awkwardly out of place "it's nice to meet you Nathan"

"You too" he nodded curtly.

"I was just telling her about the time I walked in on you and Haley on the cou…"

"Mom!" Nathan whined, rolling his eyes as he walked out of the kitchen, leaving both ladies stifling their laughs. Karen felt fondness; the monsters were human beings after all.

Nathan had gone outside, arms beckoning for the basketball being tossed around, him and Peyton were talking when Brooke interrupted, that morning at school Brooke had deluded him into thinking that Peyton wanted to get back together, but apparently she had done the same to Peyton as well.

"Listen up everybody" he heard Brooke's voice call and instinctively turned around "time to play truth or dare, or maybe just dare because nobody tells the truth anymore. Let's see, Theresa I dare you to go pinch Whitey's ass"

"I will be right back" said Theresa and Brooke smiled devilishly.

As he watched, Brooke moved her gaze towards Peyton and Lucas, and he looked between them, a little nervous, Brooke spoke with a drink in hand, head cocked to the side "let's see… Peyton"

"Brooke, come on" whispered- more like begged, her friend.

However, it fell on deaf ears "I dare you to show us, how you really feel, kiss Lucas"

Peyton's eyes watered, and in the dim light everyone could still see the flush that had crept up on her cheeks, her arms uncrossed defiantly and with that flame he knew within his ex, she grabbed Lucas' face and intensely brought their lips together.

Nathan looked away, feeling nauseous and enraged with the situation, he went to sit on a nearby chair. This mockery of Peyton's feelings loused up the already hideous night. That was when it hit him, loud and clear. There was Peyton who looked stunning in her sexy black dress, there she was kissing Lucas after they had broken up not long ago, and there she was admitting to everyone she liked his half brother right in his own house. And he felt nothing… he didn't feel jealous. His pride didn't sting. He only felt empathy towards someone he would hopefully call a friend later on, a wonderful beautiful girl he didn't want out of his life. He most certainly didn't want to get back together with Peyton.

"Why are you being such a bitch tonight, Brooke?" Nathan spat venomously as she walked by him.

"Well I thought you liked that in a girl" she whispered, leaning in and snaking an arm around his shoulder.

Nathan leaned away, pushing her arm off his shoulder and said

"Put some ice on it" as he got up to leave.

###

Haley staggered into the Scott household, three large cake boxes in hand, she had been engrossed with the sight of Lucas and Peyton on the verge of kissing a little while ago, they looked cute, embarrassed and happy. Haley had wanted to leave them alone quickly that she had forgotten the awkwardness of meeting Mrs. Scott again. Last time they had met, her son was draped over Haley.

Of course, luck was on a leave, and she spotted Deb Scott right there with Karen. Taking a deep breath, Haley hoped that she wouldn't really remember it with all the party that has been going on, or to at least be gracious and not say anything.

"Everything you need for a first class sugar coma" Haley joked, putting the boxes in front of Deb and opening one.

She smiled a little when Deb didn't say anything that would embarrass her and instead commented "Oh, those cakes are gorgeous who makes them"

"These guys" responded Karen, showing her hands whom had added frosting on the cake so beautifully.

"Thank you, Haley, I can take it from here" Deb said, pulling a box from her hands, and Haley's smile faded "go join your friends and have some food"

"No, its okay" she fiddled a little with her hands "I have to get back anyway I am still on the clock"

Part of her wished they would make her stay, another part wished it had been Nathan who invited her tonight, and unfortunately it hadn't been that way in their tutoring session that morning.

"Did you lock up when you left?" asked Karen "turned off the coffee machine"

"Yeah" confirmed Haley.

"Well then you are off the clock"

Haley smiled a little, her heart soaring and Deb said "great then it's settled, I will get some waiter to serve these" as she walked away.

"She seems kinda cool" Haley told Karen "how are you holding up?"

"Well, I haven't had to 'caw' yet"

"Ok, whatever that means" laughed Haley.

"Haley?"

"Hmm"

"Why didn't you tell me it was Nathan you were tutoring?"

"Oh-uhh- it just seemed kind of weird" she confessed softly and could see Karen's motherly instincts crossing her face "Lucas wasn't too happy about it, so I just figured you wouldn't be too happy about it. I wasn't even sure I was happy about it"

"And now?"

Haley chose her words carefully "umm, now things are okay, with Lucas and with me"

Being a mother of a sixteen year old, Karen knew Haley was hiding something but decided not to press on "and with me.. now go, have fun, it only comes around once"

The girl mock sighed, albeit smiling "okay"

As Karen watched her leave, a certain amount of pride overcame her; she had raised two fine children. But she was unaware of Haley's dilemma because as soon as the girl had walked out, she felt out of place.

Amidst the crowd Nathan saw the short brunette, her hazel eyes wide like a deer caught in headlights; she tried to make herself look taller and cooler, he guessed.

"Haley?" asked Nathan.

"Hey" she said as she turned, looking glad, that was good because he was genuinely happy, at least it was apparent from the idiotic smile that crossed his face as he walked closer to her "I am not crashing, I promise, your mom just wanted some cakes"

"Cakes?"

"Yeah, it's a long story, she invited me to stay and I sort of had a brain freeze and said sure" she said swiftly "and it's probably really weird, I am actually just gonna leave"

"No no no" he protested, and with a smile added "I am glad you came"

"Really?" she asked surprised.

"Yeah! I mean I would even study right now. Be hell of a lot more fun than this suck fest"

"Sorry I am off duty" she responded, raising her finger in that dorky manner she always does.

"Well then let me get you a drink"

"Okay"

He had to tell her, this was it, win or lose, hopefully win because he wasn't sure he could handle a lose when it came to Haley, but she had to know how he felt towards her, how she keeps him up at night.

"Tutor girl" he heard Brooke's voice as they walked towards the kitchen.

Oh no!

"It's Haley" she said bored.

"Brooke.." Nathan started, it was his turn to almost beg apparently, he shook his head in plea that she would leave them alone and not sabotage things with Haley.

However she continued "Haley, right? Nathan's own little care package. Everything, is starting to make much more sense now" He quickly looked at Haley, whose eyes screamed defiance, but he only felt an icy grip of fear "you two are adorable. What was my favorite part? Believing you will do well is half the battle."

Nathan frowned for a second, completely oblivious to what she was saying, on the other hand Haley was looking at him as if he had committed the worst of crimes, he didn't need to ask thought because Brooke continued "you know tutor girl's love note that you passed around earlier, the one that said call me, if you need anything. _At all_ "

He scoffed "Alright, Haley..."

"Stay away from me" said Haley defensively.

Nathan could swear he saw tears spring in her eyes and felt his own heart shattering as she walked off, slamming the door behind her, he sighed "game is getting old Brooke"

However the cheerleader had shown no signs of remorse and instead cocked an eyebrow satisfied seemingly and walked away as well, leaving Nathan still in a confused daze pondering on whether running after Haley when he wasn't sure what had happened would do his case well.

###

As soon as Haley was out the door that she let out a wail, her hand covering her mouth, Haley started to sprint towards the café. She knew her parents would bludgeon her with questions and that was the only second home she had. There was no doubt in mind that Nathan had used her as a joke amongst the in-crowd.

Tears were flowing down her face in an alarming speed, when she spotted the café in the horizon, Haley picked up her face, collapsing once inside, shivers overcoming her body as her heart twisted and wrenched, breaking itself in a million pieces.

"Idiot.. stupid worthless.. idiot, how could you think that he could like you? Or even feel anything for you? You are the nerdy-butt of a joke- he uses to get what he needs" Haley reprimanded herself. Haley cried, she cried until she thought she was out of tears, then she cried some more.

"Hey! Hales" She heard Lucas coming closer, until he was by her side, behind the counter where she was hiding "is this floor taken?"

Haley shook her head, and let out a whimper that made Lucas' brotherly instinct kick in, not taking his eyes off his best friend, Lucas sat down

She shuddered "you know? Just this once, I deserve a big fat I told you so"

"Well you won't get it from me" he said in a soft tone, and Haley chuckled sadly "What happened?"

"Exactly what you told me was gonna happen. I started believing that he wasn't terrible and he proved me wrong, once again, the smart girl is really stupid"

"Hey hey hey hey" whispered Lucas, wiping a tear from her cheek "you are not stupid"

"Thanks" she whispered, not really believing him, but she tried to smile "at least things are working out for one of us, looks like you and Peyton are headed in the right direction"

"If it will make you feel better, that lasted about five minutes"

Haley smiled in a way that didn't reach her eyes and touched Lucas' forehead with her own "it doesn't make me feel better. Welcome back."

"To where?"

"Normal"

"Yeah, they can have their world, come on let me help you close up"

"No, thanks, I will do it, I just wanna be alone for a little while, okay? I will be fine, I will be okay" she said, but Lucas was still unsure, so she slapped him playfully "I am okay"

"Alright" he said, getting up, Lucas hoped he was wrong, this was one area he would've love to be proven wrong in.

Some time had passed when Haley finally got up and started wiping the counters, dragging her feet around the café, going around almost on autopilot she felt as though her mind had left for the night, right along with luck.

When Nathan walked up the glass door, he saw her shoulders slumped and sadness etched on her features, he hated himself for causing it, even if it hadn't been caused by him directly. He had found the note they had been talking about, that morning when Haley was tutoring him, she had gifted him with a little box with everything he might need for his quiz, he hadn't had time to open it, but apparently Brooke had seen it in his room and used it against them. Nathan knocked on the door and Haley turned to find him, she slammed the towel on the table.

"Hey" he said and she walked towards him, arms crossed and looking towards him stoically, as if she didn't care about him anymore, he tried "can I come in?"

Hoping her eyes wouldn't betray her and burst into tears once more, she shut the lights, both as a response and as precaution.

"Haley" he begged "I didn't know, come on. Please, you gotta believe me"

But she was already out the back door "please" he whispered again, determined on not losing her, Nathan ran around the café to meet her. Haley gasped.

"Just let me explain"\\\

"Don't bother" she said roughly, though her voice cracked.

"Haley, I didn't know, I swear, I would never do that to.."

"To a nerd like me"

Wha.."

"Look, I get it, you laughed, they laughed it was funny. I am so funny. Everything about me is a joke" tears started to form in her eyes again as her voice rose in frustration. _No no no_ , she hoped they wouldn't fall and she turned away from him.

"Hales!" he tried to grab her arm "just wai.."

"Don't touch me" she screamed and startled he took a step back "and don't call me that, you can find a tutor somewhere else, we are done"

"Fine, I don't want you as a tutor" he tried, his eyes wide with plea "but I want you"

"Oh! still not out of jokes" she said coldly. "I will say it again Nathan, stay away, I never want to see you again"

She walked away in brisk steps, however Nathan stood back, staring after her, every step she took was like a part of him running off with her. He wasn't even sure how he had gotten home , all he could see was Haley venomously saying she never wanted to see him again, it wasn't even yelled, she had said it completely coolly which obviously states she meant it from her heart.

He walked into his room and saw Brooke passed out on the floor, his eyes scanned her body and he knew he wasn't even angry; he was too drained to pull that off.

The girl stirred, her drunk state giving her a headache as it seemed when she spotted him "I am sorry Nate" she whispered, and it looked like she meant it.

He stared at her for a long time, unable and unwilling to say anything, then he pulled a pillow and went to sleep on the couch outside, she had taken the best thing in his life and had the guts to say she was sorry.


	6. Of first kisses and worlds colliding

1x08

Of first kisses and worlds colliding

First thanks so much for the reviews, most of the reviews are made by guests so I can't actually thank y'all properly, however, they mean so much, also thank you to ILaffJoy, your comments make me happy.

Second, I hope you guys enjoyed the video, if you have seen it, if not, then it's on chapter 4, pure naley… also I hope you like the songs I put as muses to the chapter, they really get you in the mood.

"Appreciate the moment of a first kiss; it may be the last time you own your heart."  
— **Robert M. Drake**

 **Song muse: The reason by Hoobstank**

Sunlight had peeked through the window and Nathan scrunched his face, waking up irritably; he had been shielding his vision with his arm for a full minute when he noticed wetness on his face. Running his finger over his cheek, he realized he had been crying while asleep.

Memories of the previous night came flooding, Haley had ultimately decided she wanted nothing to do with him, and then he came home and found Brooke asleep in his room. Picking up the phone, it took two rings for Peyton to answer, he simple stated that Brooke was in his room and Peyton was there in ten minutes. Then he had picked up the drunk girl from the floor, his face devoid of any emotion and put her inside Peyton's car, not saying a word as he walked inside and collapsed on the couch. He was barely aware of Peyton's worried eyes staring at the back of his head, or Brooke's stirring and whispered apologies.

He picked up the phone with clumsiness and stood up somewhat groggily, he quickly dialed Haley's number; he had memorized it. After four rings someone picked up.

"Hello" said a gentle female voice.

"Hey, this is Nathan Scott, her classmate. Is Haley there?" he asked, it felt weird to address himself just as a classmate to her.

"Well, no. But this is her mother, can I take a message?"

"Umm, no, thank you, could you tell me where to find her?"

As soon as she had told him, Nathan wouldn't even bother with a shower; he simply threw on a sweatshirt and his jersey, and was out the door hastily. Haley was with Lucas in the record shop on the corner of Parkside Street, he had gone there with Peyton several times before.

He anticipated Haley's reaction, she was never cruel that he was sure of; she had never given up on him nor had she turned him down in a moment of need. Perhaps, she would shout, but then Nathan was positive that if he had explained everything, he could coax her into believing him, then he would maybe try and flirt a little, throwing in some bad jokes; which would make her curl her lips in an attempt to hide her smile, but it is then that he would be sure she had forgiven him. After, he would take her for some ice cream; mint chocolate chip, he had even acquired a taste for it and didn't mind one bit when he ordered it instead of the rocky road he preferred, it was all worth it, just to see Haley's face when he offered his own to her.

No sooner had he walked into the shop and met Haley's eyes that she turned away abruptly, barely aware of Lucas saying anything to her before leaving them alone, Nathan kept his eyes on the girl as he came closer with solid steps.

"I called your house; your mom said you were here"

"Crap, I should lie to her next time" said Haley, looking at the CDs in an attempt to avoid his eyes.

"Look, I didn't know that Brooke read that note, okay? I didn't even know there was a note till later. I wouldn't do that to you."

Haley looked up, ready to call him on his BS that she noticed the rims of dark circles under his dimming eyes; they looked incredibly broken, their gleam gone and replaced with an almost grayish shade devoid of life, before her resolve wavered, Haley knew in her heart it was no excuse and she shouldn't believe him, so instead she simple said "okay"

"Ok, so we're cool?" he tried.

"No, we aren't" she said softly

"Well you believe me, right?"

"Yeah, I believe you are sorry" she responded

"Well, then wha-" he groaned

As much as it hurt to say it, Haley started "look, this whole tutoring, hanging out, whatever it is, thing is just a bad idea, I am done. Just done"

With that Haley walked away, leaving a ton of weight over his fatigued heart, when Nathan looked back he could almost see an emphatic look in Lucas' eyes, his shoulder slumped a little and he closed his eyes, willing all of the image away; Haley's cold stare, had she yelled, then there was hope, but she was so calm. When he opened his eyes, it was gone, the image, along with Haley and even Lucas. All gone.

###

All day she had tried not to think about what Brooke had said, the cheerleader/most popular girl in school had actually came to the café and apologized, Haley wasn't even sure if Nathan made her do it or if she was being sincere. Nevertheless, Brooke mentioned that he was picking her up for a date, and the tutor didn't know how to feel. She was still ashamed and confounded, but the girl coming to the café softened her up and gave her ego a little soothing stroke.

Did that mean she wanted to go on a date with Nathan? Damn right it did, but would she do it? Haley was leaning towards a no. That was the reason, when Nathan knocked on the café's door, she felt disgruntled and unenthusiastic, it had been a long day and she couldn't add more drama to it. Haley stepped out to tell him to go home, and that whatever crazy schemes Brooke had cooked, she didn't have the time for.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, fed-up.

"Didn't Brooke tell you I was gonna come?"

"I try to block out everything that Brooke says" said Haley and Nathan seemed crestfallen "so whatever you guys are up to, I am just not in the mood"

"I am not up to anything" pleaded Nathan fervently "Look, I apologized, I told you the truth. The rest is Brooke; she set up this whole serial date thing. One card leads to the next"

Haley noticed the stack of cards in his hands and was intrigued "well, what does the first one say?"

He read the first card "convince Haley to go, how am I doing so far?" it was said with such innocence and sincerity that she couldn't help but smile a little, before she put on a playfully serious expression

"Well, it depends on what the second card says"

Nathan felt a spark of hope lighting up in his chest and lifting the weight that had been there earlier "go to 1423 River Street and find your next envelope. On the way, tell three things you like about each other"

"I don't know" Haley breathed a laugh, closing her eyes.

"Look, I will go first" he tried. Haley looked up and noticed the gleam return to his eyes once again, at that she felt her heart swell "you are the most patient person I know, you don't go postal on me during tutoring, and you don't treat me like some kind of moron, I really appreciate that. Look I know I have no right to ask, but we never do anything just fun together"

Haley scoffed; Shakespeare is mighty fun. He went on "plus, this is Brooke. You can bet it's not gonna be boring."

"I am free to go whenever?"

"Absolutely, Trust me?" he asked unsure. Haley just snickered in response and Nathan bent his head low and smiled shyly; almost like the way he had when she said he was full of shit on their first tutoring session, it awoke the swarm of butterflies in her stomach

"Okay, what the hell?" she finally smiled warmly.

Nathan wanted to rejoice, to jump around in the street and scream at the top of his lungs, instead he settled for politely gesturing to Haley to walk with him, as he said "okay, second, I really like your smile, it's really big and makes me happy"

Haley felt a flush go over her face as she recalled the days she wouldn't smile to the camera because she didn't like her smile that much "And number three?"

"Your loyalty, to Lucas! I know I am not always wild about how that plays out, but it's cool"

"Okay, three things I like about you" she fanned the heat in her cheeks with the cards.

"My good looks" offered Nathan jokingly and she laughed a little.

"I like the way you let me in, past the bluster you give everybody else." She said softly "I like your smile when you solve a problem and you are not horrible to look at… this is where we are going?"

Nathan laughed gleefully at the good luck he was facing, Haley and him were standing in front of a lingerie store "nice work Brooke" he said and her mouth went agape in indignation.

Haley flushed as Nathan lead her inside, she tried to hide her face by looking down and letting the brown strands of hair fall over her face.

"Relax, Hales. We just need to find the next one" he said, however she stood to the side, pretending not to know him "you know, this would go a lot faster if you help me"

"I am gonna kill Brooke"

"Okay, here it is" he responded and Haley's eyes widened as Nathan picked up the card from a red -baring no coverage whatsoever- lingerie. He read the letter "congratulations. Now buy each other a gift and exchange them on the way to- there is another address here"

She closed her eyes in embarrassment "this is so wrong"

"You wanna quit"

"I didn't say that. Let's go"

He nodded in agreement and they went in different directions.

Browsing through the articles of clothing, Nathan felt a fire surge within him, a lace ensemble of ivory corset paired with rouge thongs and stockings held up with a garter belt, a chiffon baby doll intended to show ample cleavage, a plum colored teddy with a robe covered in fake fur down the collar and around the sleeves… etc. He could picture Haley in each one of those and he felt his throat dry up slightly, she would look so hot in… Nathan's thoughts were interrupted when he noticed a negligee at the corner of the store; it was perfect, A silk negligee, champagne of color, lace over the chest area embroidered in intricate details while it flows smoothly, ending just around the thighs. Nathan gulped as he thought of Haley's plump cream legs underneath the garment. It was graceful and beautiful, everything Haley was.

Haley on the other hand was facing an entirely different dilemma; she had been interpreting the message of each article of clothing around the place… too needy… too clingy… too slutty… etc, besides the men's department had much less variety; Haley frowned at the unfairness of it, Nathan had millions of items to choose from. Opting to a pair of socks, they didn't send any messages she thought, okay maybe they send a message that she was completely ignorant, however, so far that was the best of the worse.

She looked up momentarily to see Nathan averting his gaze from a saleswoman who was trying to help him, for good reason that was, her chest was practically spilling out of a too tight blouse and a button would surely hit him in the eye if she breathes, lest he looks away. Haley giggled, heading over to the cashier to pay for her gift, before she decided to save him for the awkwardness.

The saleswoman was trying to no avail to speak to him while Nathan pretended to be super interested in a kimono's sleeve.

"Hey, are you done?" asked Haley, trying to sound casual. The woman shot her a dirty look, popping the gum in her mouth and putting a hand on her waist, Haley cocked a brow; clearly her intentions weren't to just be helpful.

Nathan, however, had breathed a sigh of relief when Haley showed up, he nodded quickly. Haley took pride in that and even had the confidence to gently grab onto his forearm, sneering at the saleswoman who rolled her eyes and walked away. "Okay let's go."

"No, go over there" he pointed to a far corner in the store.

"What? Why?"

"Because I haven't paid for yours yet" he said seriously, shooing her way.

"Fine" she rolled her eyes, playfully, looking over her shoulder as she walked away.

"No peeking" he called out and Haley laughed.

In a minute, Nathan had paid for his gift, and they were out the store. He laughed "did you see what that saleswoman was wearing?"

"Or not wearing" she responded, offering him the shopping bag in her hand "here, you go first"

"Alright" he replied, Haley smiled as he fished inside the bag for "Socks!" Nathan said incredulously with a hint of teasing.

"I was playing it safe" she said a little defensively, though with a smile, and he smiled back, shaking his head at her.

"What did you get me?"

Nathan feared that she would feel offended because of what he had bought her, when Haley reached into the bag her mouth opened agape and he bit his lips "Oh my Gosh" she gasped, he held his breath, teeth digging into his lower lip until she gushed "this is really nice. Thanks, "feeling the soft material between delicate fingers.

He held back a sigh of relief and said "Okay, if we go to this next place and we hate it, then we can just get some pizza, alright?"

"Okay" Haley's entire expression screamed giddy and baffled, and it made Nathan's spirit soar; she was going to continue the night with him and it wasn't about continuing the series of mysteries Brooke had left them, she had forgiven him and actually agreed on spending the entire night with him. Nathan felt more confidence reaching for her smaller hands, smiling as their fingers intertwined.

"Next one" she pushed, a hint of pink still tinting her cheeks, and Nathan maneuvered the letter with one hand, refusing to let go of her.

###

Whatever Brooke had done the night before was long forgotten, or never mentioned because the restaurant she had chosen was perfect for- let's call it the first date. Lantern lit and overlooking the river, and they could hear the clanking of the fancy silverware. When Nathan and Haley walked in, a host greeted them with the whitest smile, and before either could say a word…

"Mr. Scott, Miss James, we have been expecting you. This way please"

Nathan made a mental note to thank Brooke once again; she had spared him the trouble of trying to act posh; that would've been embarrassing for all of them, he was already having trouble, fumbling a little as he pondered on whether or not people tip the host. When they got to their reserved table, Nathan had forgotten about it though and moved quickly before the host could to pull Haley's chair for her, she looked up at him with slight adoration which had him puffing his chest with pride. He sat down as they were handed the menus.

"To be honest, I am little afraid" admitted Nathan and Haley laughed.

She opened the next letter and read "Okay order your favorite dish for the other person"

"Any chance your favorite dish is prime rib?"

"Yeah, we have a lot of that at my house."

He chuckled a little, though nervously as they opened the menu "I am not very experienced with this, so…"

"Ordering food?" asked Haley, a little sardonically.

"No, I mean, with Peyton, it was all just parties and games and drama. We never really did anything like this, this is different."

To be honest, Haley had taken a liking to Peyton; still the mention of her name in that context by Nathan made her feel a little jealous and she nodded reluctantly asking "Different good? Different weird?..."

"No, good" he reassured.

"Good" whispered Haley.

Nathan looked down shyly "I am really glad you decided to come"

His voice and face were so sincere and charming that she couldn't conjure a response and simply nodded.

He felt that Haley would order one of the dishes with hard to pronounce names. Looking at the silverware right in front of him, Nathan frowned, trying to remember the uses of each one. His grandma had tried to show him several times and when she was fed up, she simply instructed 'start from the outside and work your way in', Nathan frowned, that was when they had a full-course meal, with appetizers, soups, salads…etc. So which is which for the main dish, he tried to remember the correct silverware when the waiter interrupted.

"Are we ready to order?"

Nathan looked up, and said "uhh, yes, she will have the prime rib"

Haley handed the menu back saying: "And he will have mac and cheese"

"And to drink?"

"Nothing for me, Hales?"

"Same, thank you"

After the waiter left, Nathan asked "Mac and cheese?" cocking an eyebrow incredulously.

"Yes" she responded, throwing her head back proudly "got a problem with that"

Nathan shrugged "No, just thought you would order something more… umm…sophisticated"

"Why?" Haley chuckled, frowning.

"Because, like, that's who you are, graceful"

"I-I am graceful" she blinked, laughing at the notion, Nathan nodded and she said "you wouldn't say so if you were me"

"Well, then maybe you don't know 'you' all that well" he defended.

"I fell on my ass while playing jump rope and landed in a puddle, I tore my skirt first day of middle school and had to wear Ms. Shaw's tutu from the school play" she recited "I almost drowned in the balls at Chuck E. cheese, I tripped over…"

Nathan raised a hand to stop her "when was the drowning?"

Haley shrugged "I was almost six"

"And you had on overalls and held one of those dolls with freakishly large heads"

"Yes, cabbage patch dolls, but how did you..? Were you the one who got me out?" asked Haley, her eyes wide.

"No, I was the one pulling you under" he laughed.

"Whaa…?" she playfully swatted his hand, though laughing a little "I knew there was someone grabbing me under there. You scarred me for life you know that? I wouldn't let my feet from under the covers for four years after that"

"I haven't let my feet out from under the covers since I was a kid, Haley"

She chuckled, rolling her eyes.

They enjoyed their meal, joking and laughing, neither wanted the night to end, even if Nathan wasn't a big fan of mac n cheese

"Ready for this next envelope?"

"Yes"

"Reveal a secret that nobody else knows about you"

"Okay" she put on the utmost serious expression she could muster "when I was in second grade I stole some candy"

Nathan breathed a laugh "come on, that's not a secret" he pushed on "tell me something for real"

Hesitation crossed her face for a second as Nathan raised his eyebrows urging her to say it, after some silence, Haley softly said "I cheated on the geometry test last year"

He looked at her amused and bewilderment "Haley James cheated?" Nathan asked in surprise.

"Yeah, my dad was outta town and my mom was sick" said Haley and an impressed look crossed Nathan's face "and I had to take care of her, so I didn't have time to study."

"Did you get caught?"

She shook her head "No. But that wasn't the point" Nathan frowned at her words, then why did she seem upset by it "I knew what I had done and that didn't sit right with me"

Of course her reason would be a selfless one, Nathan exhaled, figuring out the rest "so you started tutoring?" he asked rhetorically with a little playful smile and a squint that declared he knew everything in her heart.

"Yeah" she smiled joyously "yeah, I guess I thought it would be like penance or something. But turned out I really liked it"

"I thought that was just to get to me" he teased and she laughed.

"So what about you, what's your…secret...?"

She was interrupted by someone say "sup, Nathan"

It was guys from the basketball team, she knew the one in the middle as Nathan's follower.

"What's up guys?" Nathan nodded towards them.

He pointed between them; deridingly "what's this?"

Haley remained quiet as Nathan pointed towards her "well, you know Haley is my tutor, right?"

"Looks more like a date to me"

Nathan loathed himself but he knew that if the guys were aware of their relationship that they would be ridiculed and he didn't want anyone disrespecting Haley, also he was a little worried about what would become of him; their social status at school were at complete odds, it was easier to just deny it, they wouldn't understand, he said "No, dude, no, it's definitely not a date"

Haley remained benevolently silent, though she felt anger frothing in her veins, her contempt obvious in her gaze.

"Okay, if that's your story" his friend responded, walking away.

Nathan closed his eyes, flaring his nostrils, feeling shame and guilt wash over him once again. Haley's eyes bore into him almost scolding, shaming him into the next decade; she looked incredibly disappointed, and he sheepishly said "Hey. I am sorry about that"

"Are you really that embarrassed to be seen with me?" she asked softly, hurt.

"No! he just… he was gonna…" Nathan tried defending himself.

"Nathan, why are you only nice to me when we are alone?"

"I…" he couldn't give a response, even when she so graciously waited for one, Haley deserved better. She deserved someone showing her off and screaming that he had her. He bowed his head in shame and she chuckled disbelievingly

"You know" she stated reprovingly, getting up, and he looked at her in heartbreak and confusion "for a few hours there, I was starting to think you weren't a son of a bitch and you just fooled me again"

She left, abandoning half her plate and the gift he had bought her, "No, Haley, wait"

###

Once he had woken up the next day, Nathan set for another apology to Haley, she had refused to answer his calls; and he couldn't blame her, after denying her in front of his friends, he even contemplated calling Lucas, so standing in her front lawn, Nathan started throwing pebbles at the window, hoping if he annoyed her enough, she would listen to him.

"Is that boy going to throw rocks at us all day?" asked Mr. James.

"Looks like it" responded his wife.

"Well, if he breaks it, he pays for it" shrugged the man.

"Hey!" she looked at her husband "should we tell him that this isn't Haley's room?"

"We could" he responded "or we could cuddle"

They looked into each other's eyes for a second and stated together "cuddle" ignoring the tapping on their window as they melted into each other's eyes.

Nathan on the other hand was persistent, throwing one after another relentlessly. He looked back when he heard Haley say "trying to wake up my parents? That's their room"

He was so glad that she was talking to him, even if it were in disdain, Nathan rushed to stand in front of her, said "look, Haley, I need to apologize, okay?"

"You should buy them in bulk, if you are going to hand apologies out that often" she said coldly, her arms crossed, shutting him off.

Nathan flared his nostrils, frustrated, he began "Look, can we just- I dunno how to do this, alright? I am not like you"

"What does that mean?" asked Haley, her brows rushing together.

He struggled to explain "I screw up a lot, alright, and being around you, I just don't wanna be that guys anymore"

"Well, who do you wanna be Nathan?"

"I want to be somebody who is good enough to be seen with you" he declared honestly, and meant it from the bottom of his heart, if changing was what it took to have Haley, then that is what he would do.

"You should've thought of that last night" she snapped "you know I keep putting myself out there and you keep blowing it, and it's probably a good thing because at this point, there is nothing that you can say or do that is gonna surprise me…"

For a spontaneous wild moment, Nathan only saw the beauty behind her frustration and anger, the love and care behind her heartbroken words and he wanted to mend it, he wanted to fix everything he had done, he needed to tell her of the feelings so deep that couldn't be fathomed into words. So, he leaned down, pressing his lips against hers, soft and warm, it was for a couple of seconds; really simple and sweet. He leaned back, anticipating her reaction, would she be angry? Would she never want to speak to him again? Would she not understand the intensity of his feelings towards her, or maybe she wouldn't reciprocate.

"Except that" continued Haley softly, her voice barely a whisper. Her heart fluttered, wondering how she had lived without his kiss before; scared of the new revelation "you shouldn't have done that Nathan"

"I wanted to"

The answer was there, simple and clear, she wanted him, she wanted nothing more "yeah" she agreed, and as he looked down ashamed, Haley realized how ridiculous it was, the boy she loved had just kissed her, and he declared that he felt something towards her, why was she not doing anything. She launched herself into his warm strong arms, catching him by surprise, her arms hanging onto his neck as he held her up in an embrace, the world spinning at an alarming speed around them and they deepened the kiss, hanging on to each other like a drowning person hangs on to a raft, Their lips moved together in harmony, tugging and pulling, their hearts beating against each other rapidly, a shiver running through their bodies even though they felt as though fire ran through their bloodstream, and like celestial bodies they felt like weightless beings floating in midair.

"I never felt that way kissing anyone, and I never wanted to kiss anyone the way I want to kiss you" he whispered when they pulled apart "that's my secret"

Haley moaned in appreciation "Me neither"

Jamie and Lydia James stood at the window, a camera in the woman's hand as she captured what would be a turning point in her daughter's life. The couple cuddled together, touched and astound by the amount of love about to explode from the younger ones.

"They are so cute" she gushed.

###

Haley couldn't help the smile on her face the entire school day, she and Nathan didn't have any classes together that day, but they did share a shy smile and a flirtatious wink, however, that was the extends of their communication. When the school day ended, and she saw him stepping out the door, their eyes meeting, Haley stood expectantly, until his friends came towards him, she started to walk away, whether it was because she didn't want to cause him any embarrassment or as protection from more disappointment, Haley started to leave, when she heard Nathan calling her name.

He came running towards her, leaving his friends behind. Her smile widened gleefully, feeling nervous as Nathan looked at her with adoration, he reached out and removed a strand of hair from her eyes, pushing it behind her ear with calloused hands (btw, apparently James Lafferty has calloused hands, just thought I would mention it.)

"Let me walk you home" he requested, her smaller hands almost buried in his much larger ones. And they both walked together, Haley flushed and unable to contain her smile, while Nathan puffed his chest and grinned, standing even taller than he already was.

"So you don't care that people know?"

"No" he simple stated "I care that everyone knows"

 **That is all folks. I put a little foreshadowing or so in this chapter, can you figure it out? Also if anything seems out of place or wrong please do tell me. And if you want to add me on instagram where I also post one tree hill, along with supernatural, my account is (ohsupernaturall). Finally I do hope you watched my Nathan/Haley video, if you can't then contact me and I will gladly send you the link. Thank you in advance.**


	7. Of popping pills and regret

1x09

Of popping pills and regret

 **Song Muse: Cry by Mandy Moore**

"...I told him a story of two people. Two people who shouldn't have met, and who didn't like each other much when they did, but who found they were the only two people in the world who could possibly have understood each other."  
― **Jojo Moyes** , **Me Before You**

The world all around was yet to wake up, aside from Nathan Scott, who had risen before the sun did, he was dribbling the ball across the court in their backyard, brows furrowed in concentration as he anticipated an imaginary opponent's move; pivoting on his heel, Nathan's feet hit the ground hard as he leaped towards the basket and dunked, holding onto the net for a few seconds before letting go.

He predicted every tackle and movement, prepping for the worst, the game was just around the corner and the whispers were maddening, every person in that school expected him to carry the game on his shoulder, including himself, he had to be the best; he was expected to be better than the best. Of course nobody would look at the effort he had put into that game; they wouldn't care that he slept after midnight and woke up before sunrise trying to score extra hours of practice and it wouldn't matter how many hours he spent in that gym; the scoreboard was all there is.

Sweat streaked his temple and heaving chest, sore muscles ached for rest and his entire body was slacking off due to need for sleep. That wouldn't do, he needed to be in tiptop shape and getting more rest meant wasting time he could get practicing.

Shuffling in the kitchen snapped him out of his thoughts as he solemnly let go of the ball and walked back into the house. Dan Scott was already seated, eyes scanning the headlines in the newspaper as he sipped on his heavily sweetened coffee.

"Mornin' dad" Nathan mumbled as he pulled the cereal box from the top shelf and went to fill a bowl.

The older man nodded in acknowledgment, not taking his eyes off the paper, after a couple of minutes he spoke up "how long have you been out there?"

Nathan turned to the clock on the wall, "two and a half hours, give or take"

"Couldn't have gone for three?" he questioned finally glancing up.

He had barely downed two spoonfuls of cherrios before losing his appetite all together; dropping his spoon loudly in the bowl and splashing a little milk on the counter, Dan didn't seem to take note of any of this as he continued to give his son a critique of his previous games, ignoring the look of indignation Nathan was giving him.

"I gotta take a shower" interrupted Nathan, as he got up.

"Son" Dan stopped him in his tracks "you need to work on your fade away"

"So do you." Nathan whispered under his breath, walking away.

He was glad he had the excuse of school as he couldn't endure conversations with his father anymore, especially at a time like this when his –supposed to be- support system dragged him down and insisted Nathan would never be good enough to beat his own score, even his mother; who was in town, was hardly ever home, always helping at Karen's cafe. The only consoling thought was that in a few minutes he would meet Haley, which alone made him take a shower and head to Tree Hill high in record timing.

People were already bustling absentmindedly around school, and Nathan had to scan the crowd a few times before he spotted the tiny brunette, with fierce determination walking ahead of him.

"Haley"

She looked behind as he called out, reaching for her hands; Nathan's eyes scanned Haley's body lustily, a mischievous and flirtatious grin on his face as he pulled her towards a nearby wall. Nathan didn't waste any time as he bent down and he hungrily started kissing her, as Haley responded passionately, his hands not even around her yet she was magnetically drawn up, standing higher on tiptoes, her chest rising as Nathan devoured her breath into his mouth, She could barely care that they were in school, but then again she was tutor girl. Haley moaned in half-assed protest, "we can't do this here right now" she giggled shyly whilst Nathan looked at her with dizzying giddiness.

"We just did" he responded, his face so incredibly happy and Haley giggled more; hands covering her mouth, then he continued "alright, I will kiss you later"

Haley's face refused to stop smiling even when he walked away; she knew being with Nathan Scott was running huge heartbreak risk, but she couldn't even bring herself to care, she was happy. Boy! Was she happy!

He looked behind his shoulder at her again, sending a wink her way and she blushed even more. Haley felt pride swell inside her as a group of students called out "Nathan we are counting on you" and "Are you bringing us to the win?"

"You can bet on it" he said, nodding. But her smile faltered when she saw him looking away and let out a shaky breath, misery washing over his face. Haley's hand went over her heart and she frowned; feeling a pang.

###

Nathan couldn't say he was glad to be home, he also couldn't say he was sad to leave school, at this point he was unsure of where to be. The entirety of the day people asked him about the game, Whitey disguised some pressure in the form of pep talk and Haley was gone doing tutor stuff after he kissed her. He felt as though he was being childish, letting the weight of it all crush him, knowing very well that he didn't have the luxury of breaking down.

He had spent some time jogging around the block and when he returned his dad had already ordered take out for them, two hours before.

"How is your sandwich?"

"Almost warm" responded Nathan.

"Well, I will start cooking again. Unless your mother comes to her senses"

His dad was actually a much better cook than his mom, aside from her sugar-rush cookies. "You know, just when I think things can't get any weirder around here, Mom takes over Karen café." He scoffed "I think I am going to invite Lucas over to spend the night"

Dan shot him a look, and Nathan couldn't help but laugh.

"Well your mother hasn't exactly been herself lately. It might help if you tell her you are happy. She thinks I ruined your life."Nathan felt a little more pressure over his gut, he looked down, his mother's disappointed face popping in his head, but Dan went on "Cove City game's coming up."

"Yeah, Whitey claims that if we lose, the sun doesn't rise"

"Well, he might actually be right for once. Of course you know who scored the most points again the Cavaliers? 42"

"Yeah" Nathan nodded with a smile, his tongue running against his cheek, as he matched his dad's cockiness "I am looking to top that this week"

"No, you won't" Dan stated simply, and Nathan's face fell "want to know why? Because you are not tough enough inside, I got coverage buckets you will never get because you can't bang down low like I did." The younger boy drew a shaky breath but his father ignored the crestfallen look on his face and continued with the onslaught "that plus the fact that your conditioning is for crap. I never left the floor during a game"

Deb entered at that very moment, and Nathan wanted to shout at her for leaving him all this time with his dad, to shout at his dad for his words which he feared would be true and to shout at himself for not working harder.

"Hey guys" said Deb.

Nathan shot straight up, standing tall and dead panned "I am happy, mom. Dad loves me" then he walked away leaving his mother in shock.

If he were to beat his dad's score, he had to resort to stronger methods. He couldn't let his father hold this over him for the rest of his life, even if it meant giving up a few extra hours of rest and seeking some drugs. With determination, Nathan turned on the stereo to the loudest he could, trying to drown his voice as he dialed Tim's number, pacing back and forth and bouncing a little ball in his hand. Tim's brother had tried persuading him into taking drugs, Nathan afraid of the stuff and afraid they would call him a wuss, had decided he would try a joint, which felt as though he were weightless, flying on a cloud, It felt alright, he supposed, though it was a little unsettling and he didn't wish to continue with that habit, it was a onetime thing. However, in this situation he would take those drugs come hell or high waters. There wasn't any hesitation.

Tim's voice came through the speaker "What up, brother?"

"You do know you are white. Tim?" said Nathan irritably.

"What's wrong with you?"

"Is your brother still dealing?" he almost tore a hole in the carpet from pacing.

"Why?"

"Because I need to tear it up against Cove City"

"So how is getting high going to help?"

Nathan was growing more annoyed at his best friend's slowness "Not weed Tim, performance enhancers. Look just tell your brother I need to be on the floor for forty minutes and I need to be in different gear"

"You sure about this?" Tim sounded worried

"Yeah, He will know what to get" then he hung up before Tim could even say anything that might change his mind. Rage burned within him and he threw the ball hard into a framed picture of Dan and him.

###

Tim had given him the pills the day before, they had an effect he had never seen before, on one hand he was faster than ever, he was already the fastest on the team, but this made him reach unexplored territory, he also had so much built up strength. The downside was the wrath that he felt, if he were angry before, it was nothing compared to this, flames coursed through his veins and he was surprised smoke wasn't coming out of him at that point, everything annoyed him, voices, touches… etc.

Yesterday, he snapped and yelled at Whitey when he reprimanded him for pushing another player, Nathan sighed at the memory, his heart hammering in his chest, It had been doing that ever since those pills and it kept him up all night, which was just as well, since he couldn't even sit down that night and snuck out of the house to play in the river court.

 _"_ _Hold it that was a foul, Nathan, you have got to get off his back"_

 _"_ _Why don't you get off my back, Whitey?" retorted Nathan, his face scrunched up in defiance as his coach looked stunned._

 _"_ _How would you like to call it a practice?"_

 _"_ _Whatever, man, that's fine by me"_

 _Blood pumped in his head hard, and he slammed the ball; allowing it to bounce with a loud echo on the gym's floor, as he stormed off._

 _"_ _Nathan?" Whitey called out._

 _The younger one turned around sharply, yelling "What?! Huh? What the hell do you all want from me?"_

 _The coach took in the boy's disheveled appearance, labored breathing and excessive sweat and his heart softened, he couldn't possibly shout at him or even have him do detention, instead spoke in a gentle voice "just walk away son. Walk away"_

Nathan on the other felt betrayed and enraged, he had taken his anger out on his towel at the gym which was torn to shreds and he had to wear his clothes without getting dry. He would have punched something or someone but couldn't risk hurting his hands. After when he had gone to class, he couldn't concentrate on a single word being said and his legs were bouncing to the point where other found it irritating, of course they hadn't dared say a word, he was Nathan Scott after all, and he could beat them to a pulp. Instead they rolled their eyes and huffed in annoyance at his pen clicking and finger tapping. When the bell had rung he stormed out of the classroom as quickly as possible and headed to his locker, where he was standing at that very moment.

He opened it with unnecessary rage, almost taking it off its hinges when he felt a tap on his arm, Nathan's jaw clenched in agitation and he swung around ready to snap at whoever touched him when he saw it was a giggling Haley, he simmered down a little, though he was still annoyed "very funny"

Her smiled didn't falter "hey, are you okay? Lucas said you had some trouble at practice yesterday"

"Lucas needs to mind his own business" he responded "we got a game coming up, that's all. I just get a little intense"

"Are you okay? You are shaking" questioned Haley with an inquisitive smile and quietly added "Nathan"

"My heart is racing too" he pulled her hand to his chest, with a little smile "that's what happens when I am around you"

For those two seconds, his hand felt incredibly rough and calloused, resting over Haley's own smaller one, as she sensed his heart beating at an abnormal speed and her smile widened, her cheeks heating up, he asked "so your house tonight, right? Tutoring?"

"Are you sure, you are okay?"

"Yeah, I am fine, I just- I had a bad day yesterday" he fibbed and when Haley didn't look convinced, he said "see you tonight?"

Haley nodded her head and responded "yeah" then walked away. He had to look over his shoulder, making sure she was gone before he grabbed another pill; concerned with the look she would give him if she ever caught him taking them.

By Lunch time, Haley kept a side eye on Nathan who was seated with his jock friends, beads of sweat appearing across flushed skin, a frown sculpted in his face as he rubbed his temple every four seconds with the appearance of major headache and breathing looked painful. The meal was left untouched though his water bottle had almost been emptied, and when he reached out for another swig, knocked it over, allowing the water to spill over as the others started to get alert. He pulled his backpack over his shoulder irritably and stormed off to the gym.

###

Their session had arrived soon enough, and Nathan was there as soon as it did. His finger repeatedly ringing her doorbell while the other hand knocked on the door relentlessly, Haley rushed to the open the door and found Nathan bouncing on the balls of his feet. As soon as he saw her, he nodded happily, and rushed in without being invited, grabbing her wrist and pulling her inside "alright, let's do this"

The petite girl giggled, only just closing the front door with the tip of her fingers, as she was pulled to the kitchen. Haley stood to the side, her hands stifling laughter while Nathan crouched in front of the open refrigerator

"We have left over meatloaf"

He shook his head, pulling out a second bottle of water "not hungry." Then something caught his eyes "what is that?"

Nathan held a jug of copper juice with lemon slices floating inside to his eyelevel curiously

"Uhh, dad made sweetened iced tea"

"Nice, I never had that" he held it in one hand, grabbing two of bottles of water in the other "alright, let's study"

When he walked out of the kitchen, Haley had to take a moment to snap out of her amusement before she followed him to her room. He was holding her teddy bear with one hand and using the other to drink from the jug of sweetened ice tea, some of it dribbling across his chin. He eyed the stuffed toy almost apprehensively as though it were a sociopath waiting to kill him oh so sweetly.

"What is that?"

"HE" Haley gritted her teeth "is Mr. Waffles"

"A stuffed bear" Nathan cocked an eyebrow.

"My friend" she yanked out her beloved from Nathan's fingers, smoothing the brown fur with caution. Thankfully, Nathan didn't tease her about it, he had already moved to the next thing, and was looking at a poster she had hung up "your parents know you got a naked chick in your room?"

Haley rolled her eyes, as she sat down and opened a text book "That is Allison Hayes, she isn't naked, it's a movie about her turning into a giantess"

"A hot naked giantess" he nodded, impressed.

"Let's get started"

"Okay"

"Alright, so where were we, ahh… so John Adams was… what are you doing?" she looked up to see Nathan standing restlessly in front of her bulletin of pictures "Nathan, are you going to pace all night or can we get started?"

"Are these all your brothers and sisters?"

"Yeah, I am the youngest; I don't think my parents know what to do with the silence."

He went to sit on her bed "so a month ago, did you think we would be alone in your bedroom?"

"Oh, but we are not alone in my bedroom. We have the forefathers with us" teased Haley, lifting up a stack of papers.

"They can watch" he persisted

She chuckled "Nathan, can you just get serious for a minute?"

"Oh I am serious" he said, tugging on her arm "come 'ere"

He pulled her on his legs and started kissing her lips; they were softer and more lovely than anything he has ever tasted. Slowly, he pushed her to her back over the mattress, hovering over her body with his. "My parents could come home any minute" she giggled.

"Come on" he just smiled and Haley's arms wrapped around his neck, deepening the kiss. His hand grazed her blouse as he started unbuttoning it, feeling his calloused fingers over her bare stomach, she snapped out of it.

"Nathan, come on stop it"

He didn't stop however, and the feeling of safety she had felt with Nathan was gone. As he unbuttoned another button, her protests fell on deaf ears "come on". He hovered over her, she knew if he wanted to, he could get what he wanted and for a second panicked, Nathan was twice her size "Don't, hey!" she protested loudly, pushing him with all her strength and jumped up.

"What?" he asked in bafflement, and Haley scoffed.

"I think you should go" she started to do her buttons once more.

"You are kidding, right?" fear slashed at his heart, as she went to open her door for him. Haley was holding her breath in apprehension and he was filled with regret at causing it "Haley, alright, Haley, I am sorry. We can study, it is fine"

"I would like you to go" she repeated firmly

With wrath, Nathan got up and stormed off "unbelievable" the fire consumed his being, he was mad at everything and anything, at Haley for rejecting him, for not forgiving him when he was as sincere as he could ever be, at himself more when he saw how scared she looked of him, how much he had screwed it up between them, again, with his stupidity. She looked hot. Haley always looks hot, but that night, something inside of him had snapped at how beautiful she is, how amazing her body is and a little part of him was ashamed that he might not have stopped.

He slammed the door loudly, and walked a couple of steps before darkness overtook his vision for a second and he lost his balance, falling into a tree, Nathan squeezed his eyes shut and opened them, until he regained proper vision, though he was still dizzy, he managed to regain his balance, that was odd, it had never happened to him before. However, Nathan had more important things on his mind to let a dizzy spell and some nausea hinder him. He reached into his pocket and dry swallowed one more pill, he needed more practice.

###

It was right before the big game and Nathan's stomach pain pounded dully, it could have been because he had snapped at Haley right outside when she wanted to talk, or the fact that he hadn't been to the bathroom more than twice these past few days, or everyone's eyes on him as they expected the raven haired boy to lead them to victory; he closed his eyes, willing the thought of losing away, it wasn't even possible, they would eat him alive, and if by some miracle he managed to escape them, his dad would surely kill him, only to bring him back and gloat about his own victories, and rub it in that Nathan could never beat him. There wasn't a chance of losing, he couldn't allow it. Waiting for the rest of the team to walk out, Nathan grabbed one… no two… Nah three… three pills; he needed to be in the best shape and couldn't risk it, and swallowed them hastily before he ran out.

He was ahead, prince Nathan Scott, leader of tree hill high was living up to his reputation and the cheers of the crowd were proof of it. He gloated and rejoiced at the baskets he was scoring. Even Haley had forgotten the problems between them and was smiling proudly as Nathan monopolized the ball and dribbled it roughly, across the floor, the sound drowned by the cheers and commentary from Mouth. Just one more shot. One more and he could wipe that smug smile off his dad's face forever. A player was between him and the basket and he ran straight into him, falling together. Nathan only saw that the ball had got in and was filled with joy for a beat when the referee whistled

Nathan jumped to his feet with disappointed rage, about to punch the man "What?"

The ref shouted "No basket"

"He was moving at speed. What are you talking about?" he shouted at the ref, walking to grab the man by the throat when he turned to face him with a warning hand and said firmly

"Easy, son"

"Keep your eyes on the game" threatened Nathan.

Tim went to pull him to the bench, fearfully whispering "Nathan are you okay?"

But Nathan just elbowed him away, sitting down.

Whitey bent down so he was nose to nose with him and warned "Nathan, I don't care how many points you have got, you keep this up, I will move you so far down the bench they'll have to pump air through you"

Pumping air? That was a good idea, Nathan suddenly became very aware of how hard it was to breathe. As a matter of fact it felt like knives were slashing at his chest whenever he tried to draw in a small breath, When he caught Lucas' eyes, a part of him wanted to call out for help, his chest about to burst as his heart beat in sickening speed and nausea over flooded him, he couldn't afford being sick, one more shot. That was all it took. When he heard the buzzer, Nathan got up on weakened shaky knees, one more, just one more.

"Just give me the ball" he told Lucas, ignoring the worried glance he was giving him.

They cheered defense and walked to their spots.

"You alright?" asked Lucas.

"Will be two points from now?" responded Nathan, strutting, determined.

The ball was passed between the players when Lucas passed it over to his younger brother, suddenly, catching it, Nathan fell in a dreamlike state, everything was misty and abnormally slow, he tried to regain his vision, when he noticed others with concerned look on their faces, Lucas, his dad and Haley…. _Haley? What was so scary_? His feet were glued to the ground although his body felt light as a feather; he swung back and the player behind him mistaking it for a fade away stayed covering his back. Nathan's stomach dropped and nausea hit him further when suddenly, he hit the ground, hard; the player behind him having moved. The pain in his back had hardly registered as Haley's face popped in his head, he had never felt this scared before, he was going to die, the world darkening all around and all Nathan could see was her face fading accompanied by the thud of the ball and the screams of the crowd, he had to tell her, he couldn't die without Haley knowing th….

Nathan was unresponsive when Tim reaches him, and the crowd was certainly getting incredibly worried as he started to call out "Coach! Coach"

Haley got to her feet with everyone else, Nathan's friend was shaking him but like a rag doll, Nathan's spread eagled body simple jerked unwillingly with the motion, then coach Durham reached him and Lucas and the rest of the team, Haley felt lightheaded and icy cold when the coach reached to feel a pulse and started shouting to anyone "Call an ambulance, now"

Nathan's body started convulsing violently. _This couldn't be happening._ Haley pushed through the crowd; right in front of her was his dad

Dan Scott raced to his little boy's side, "move! That's my son" he shouted, elbowing his way to Nathan, who Whitey had pulled up and was cradling to his chest like a baby, stroking the player's head and whispering "it will be okay son, you will be okay". Dan felt paralyzed as he fell to his knees watching his boy with all the color drained from his face.

She stood at a far off distance as Nathan's body shuddered and spasmed. He appeared to be choking, though never having regained consciousness, and Lucas shouted "On his side! On his side"

They flipped him over and vomit tarnished the gym floor, as another player waved his hand over his face, providing some air.

 _"_ _Where is the ambulance?"_

 _"_ _Clear the way."_

 _"_ _Give him some air."_

 _"_ _Nathan! Nathan! Nathannnnnn!"_

Haley felt as though she would faint, terrified to her very core, she sat at the bench not seeing him anymore as more people crowded around Nathan, all she could hear was the screams of people who had huddled around him, even the opponents seemed worried. Then the paramedics arrived and she barely got a view as he was loaded on a gurney and wheeled away, the medics screaming instructions as well, though this time she couldn't quite understand most of them.

 _"_ _BP 160/110"_

 _"_ _Abnormal heart beat"_

 _"_ _262 Bpm"_

 _"_ _Sixteen year old boy"_

 _"_ _Taychardia"_

 _"_ _Stay with us, Nathan."_

Hands started pumping at his stomach hard, pushing in and out but no reaction was made.

Then he was gone, driven away in the ambulance with Dan Scott by his side, holding his son's hand and looking as though he were about to collapse himself, Lucas had to put a hand over her shoulder to snap her out of it.

"I have to…." she said, getting up and running after Nathan.

Her lungs burned as she pounded her feet hard on the ground in an unsteady rhythm, Nathan's shut eyes haunting her, she had to be there, his family had to be there, she had never seen Dan so scared and when Deb… Deb! She was at the café; she didn't even know what happened. Wait, that's ridiculous, surely, Mr. Scott had called her, and she should be with her son. Turning around, though reluctantly, Haley headed for the café, Deb should be there, not her.

She walked into the café hurriedly "hey, I was going to check on him but then I realized you were here. You should go, how is he?"

"Who?"

"Nathan" Haley responded quickly.

"What about him?"

Haley stammered "Y-you don't know?"

Deb's eyes widened and she gripped at Haley's arm fearfully, her fingernails digging in "Haley, what happened to my son?"

It took her exactly half a second after Haley had told her to round up the counter and run outside, Haley didn't even get a chance to tell her she would go with her and instead had to stay at the café and close up.

"Mrs. Scott! Wait, I…"

But Deborah was already half way across the street.

Nathan came to with a splitting headache, shapes contorted in front of him before he could finally make out his old man's face, looking at him with tenderness he hadn't seen before, his hand stroking his hair as he softly reassured "easy son, you are okay, can you hear me?"

Memories came flooding back and his body tensed a little, did his dad know he took drugs? He was in a hospital, they must have told him.

"Can you hear me?" Dan asked.

"Yeah" croaked Nathan.

His dad explained "You collapsed during the game" still running his hand over his head, and Nathan blinked a few times, there weren't any repercussions, was his dad waiting for them to be out of reach from any resuscitating devices before he choked the life out of him.

"Nathan" a doctor leaned over the bed's railing "how are you feeling?"

"I have to piss" His voice came out raspy.

The doctor smiled "you were severely dehydrated. We got you in these packs because your body temperature was very high. Now I need to ask you some questions about the supplements you are taking"

Dan's head turned sharply towards him and if he could recoil further into the bed he would have. Lie! Was all he could think of, as the doctor recited "Benzedrine? Mephedrine? Anabolic steroids? Anadrol? Dianabol?"

Nathan shook his head to all of those.

"Okay" said the doctor though he didn't seem convinced "What about speed? Cocaine? Ecstasy?"

"Hey, doc, he is an athlete not a junkie, okay?" said Dan irritated.

"He is also a kid"

"True, but he is my kid" the man stated firmly, the mere thought of his son taking drugs would be scandalous to him. Nathan tried to swallow saliva he didn't have "so how about you play a little more doctor and a little less detective"

"Mr. Scott, can I speak with you?"

His dad left with a few comforting words to him and followed the doctor, he winced as he listened to the doctor describe that they had found signs of drugs in his bloodstream, of course his dad threatened that he would sue him if he spread lies about his son; refusing to believe his perfect athlete was taking anything and concerned if word came out. A lump formed at Nathan's throat and he felt it build up until it constricted his airway and wouldn't be released till a tear slipped down his cheek, it reached a point where Dan was speaking almost loudly though gritted teeth on how his boy isn't a druggie and Nathan trembled at the thought of the test results being confirmed. He couldn't do this anymore, he just couldn't handle it. He needed to see her, to see Haley. _She is mad at you._ He would beg for her forgiveness if he had to. _She hates you_ Nathan winced at that thought; Haley would never ever hate him, that wasn't possible. Was it? The idea was unbearable. _You almost raped her._ It's Haley, I would never hurt her. _Yes, you would._

The thoughts flooded his mind as he grabbed his clothes that were folded neatly nearby and tiptoed out of there.

Nathan found his feet taking him some place, he wasn't sure where, till he saw it, abandoned; he trudged over to their wooden bench. He sat down in the spot where he had actually got to know the most wonderful girl he had ever know and broke down. Tears rushing hard as his chest heaved with loud sobs, his arms running over the table, surely splinters were going into his arms but he couldn't care less, the weight he had been carrying was suffocating him and all he could do was watch. Haley wouldn't forgive him. She was actually scared of him that night. Nathan flinched.

 _Maybe she will. Go._

A hopeful voice whispered and for once he decided to listen to it. On heavy feet Nathan moved towards Haley's house.

###

Fear was crawling slowly in Haley's heart as she dialed his number once again, going to voicemail. She was almost out of the café when Deb had called her frantically asking if she knew where Nathan was, on one hand she was so afraid something would happen to him, especially considering he had collapsed just before, on the other hand, Nathan was walking, that meant he was up and moving and she could breathe a sigh of relief.

"Hey. I guess, I am just worried about you. I really hate where we ended things"

"So do I" whispered a strangled voice and she looked behind her to see him. Nathan leaned across the door in hesitation, looking down and shoulders slumped "Nobody answered the door"

"They are gone for the weekend" she whispered, hanging up the phone, then asked in concern "how are you?"

"Not so good" he said in a broken voice, "Can I just…" he hesitantly walked towards her and Haley's heart shattered at the idea of him being scared of touching her, so she moved closer, allowing him to walk in her arms. Nathan bent down and nuzzled her shoulder. "I made a lot of mistakes Haley" he whispered, pulling away, as he looked into her warm eyes "sometimes because of my dad, sometimes because of my choices"

Her eyes clung to him even as he walked over to the bed, sitting down, she joined him. Nathan said "I just can't do it anymore"

Haley on the verge of tears, soothingly said "it's okay"

"No, it's not. It is not okay. I am not okay. When I fell over tonight, I was so scared, I was terrified. But then I saw you." Nathan said, and Haley's hand went to stroke his hair soothingly "I promised myself that if I could just get up, I would walk over to you, tell you how much I need you. How much I want you. How nothing else matters"

With those words, Haley felt her heart soar; she ran her hand over his hair, then his face. Breaking into a huge smile, as she shook her head in disbelief, he came back, and not just for sex. But for her, he felt the same way, she wished for nothing more. Haley pressed her lips on his, tasting the salt from his earlier tears, and when she pulled back Nathan's face was still contorted in unseen pain, she stood up to bring him some tea and he whispered as she reached the door, apparently worried she would ask him to leave

"Haley can I stay with you tonight?" he pleaded. Softly she nodded, going closer to him, until he was straddling her, this time there wasn't anything lustful about it, he simple wrapped his arms around her waist, nestling his face under her chest as he wept more.

"I am sorry, Haley, I don't want you to ever be scared of me"

"Hey listen to me" she pulled his head up "nothing about you is short of good. I need you to see that"

He reluctantly nodded as Haley pulled away, stripping the covers and beckoning him inside, as she went up to his arm and snuggled up to him, his drowsiness taking over "you are beautiful 'ales" he whispered, planting a sloppy kiss on her forehead before falling asleep.

Haley had to wait for a few moments before she got up to get the phone, she dialed Deb, after three rings it picked up.

"He is here"

"Oh, Thank God, is he…"

"Yes, he is okay. And he is here…"

His mother didn't ask many questions, just whispered her thankfulness and hung up after asking Haley to call if anything had ever happened. Her eyes moved to the boy in her bed, breathing loudly and she finally whispered in joy "he is here and I am never letting go of him"

She didn't care that her parents might surprise her with a visit, or that she spent fifteen minutes removing splinters she had found in his forearms ever so gently as not to wake him; stopping when he winced and then going on when his face relaxed into the sleep, or the fact that he reeked from sweat, as he hadn't showered, Haley took it all in and she was happy. Boyyyyyyyyyyy! Was she happy!

 **Alright as you guys can see I try to leave a clue in my chapters, in this one it is pretty obvious, but I am kinda shocked nobody got it in the previous chapter, I had actually written a line from Halo by Bethany Joy Lenz.**


	8. Author's note

Hello everyone, this isn't really a chapter, although the next one is hopefully pending, I really appreciate your reviews and feedback, not only is it a motivation to write more, but my heart soars whenever I realize you actually enjoyed my fanfiction to the point where you took the time to write something, it means a lot, especially those of you who note what they enjoyed, thank you.

That being said, I need your opinion on some things:

1- Do you wish for the chapter to be longer? Shorter? Same? (I average around 6000 words per chapter)

2- Do you want me to cut down on the actual scenes that aired and focus on the not-before-seen scenes? or post both?

3- Do you have any criticism whatsoever? anything you would like me to change? because believe me, I want to hear it.

Thank you my darlings


	9. Of meeting parents and new beginnings

Thank you so much for your suggestions guys, I will not make the chapters shorter, though this one is a bit shorter but that was because the possibiltiy of having a lot of Naley in this chapter was minimal, I will try to lessen the real scenes and when they are there, I will have them be extended, show their feelings and motives clearly, and I will also focus more on never before scenes, I tried to mix comedy with drama in this chapter and I hope nobody seems out of character. As for following the storyline, this story is 100% canon, however, it is a naley story, so Leyton and Brucas and Brase and others are usually there to serve the purpose of telling the naley story, so even if you get caught in the Leyton/ Brucas conflict, remember it's not a huge chunk of the fiction.

1x10

Of Meeting the parents and new beginnings

Song muse: I see love by keb mo

"Come sleep with me: We won't make Love, Love will make us."  
— **Julio Cortázar**

The chirping of birds and sun poking at her eyes, were what made Haley stir from her deep slumber. Her head was resting on something solid instead of her usual fluffy pillow and she had to rub her eyes a few times before her vision cleared.

She looked up to the face of Nathan Scott, her hands caressing his Pecs, and for a happy moment they were the only two people in the world. Then it was melancholic, as the memories of the previous night hit her, how she almost lost him, how much weight he carried… It was followed by fear, of how intense her feelings for him were, they had barely started a relationship; if she could call it that, and Nathan was too big a part of her life. Haley bit her bottom lip as her forefinger moved to his own lips, so soft and addictive, and she watched his eyes flutter open and he broke into a huge peaceful smile.

"Morning" he whispered hoarsely.

Haley propped herself up and gave him a soft peck "Morning"

"Best morning of my life," he whispered appreciatively, allowing his forefinger sweep a lock of hair away from her eye "I could get used to seeing your face first thing. everyday"

Engulfed in ecstasy and heat, Haley bit back a giggle, though her cheeks were tinted pink a little. She buried her face into his chest, closed her eyes and mumbled "Me too", Nathan's hand moved to rub her shoulder and she cleared her throat after her voice had been hitched "so, if my parents come home, I am going to pretend I have amnesia, so don't freak out if I pretend I don't know you"

They laughed together.

"Listen I think I should get back to the madness" Haley moaned in protest, nuzzling her face even deeper into his chest, and he sincerely said "but hey" she looked up, beaming "if I could, I'd stay like this all day"

She gave him a quick kiss and watched gleefully, as he sat up.

"Nathan" she started and he looked at her "about last night…"

"Hey, it's not about sex with me, okay? When you are ready, I will be too"

Sex, to have or not to have, that was the question. The elephant in the room, so Haley felt affection, comfort and gratitude wash over her at Nathan's words. She bounced up and whispered "come here" linking both arms around his neck, locking her lips around his bottom one in a kiss that she hoped transmitted all she felt. And Nathan responded enthusiastically, their chests pushed against each other, they could feel each other's hearts thudding manically to reach the others', no sooner did she pull back to stroke his handsome face, that she gave him another kiss. Unable to stop smiling, even when Nathan looks down with a smile and a blush, Haley threw herself back on the bed with a content sigh, her foot; adorned in pink fluffy socks; rubbed his back.

How was life so wonderful?

"Walk me to the door" requested Nathan softly, puppy eyes in full mode. Haley nodded, jumping up, their fingers intertwined and they walked together to the front door.

He kissed her.

She nudged him.

He teasingly pushed her hair in front of her eyes.

She pulled him down into a huge hug.

He inhaled the fragrant jasmine in her hair, running his hands down her back, when… Haley shrieked, causing him to jump away from her, before he could comprehend what had happened. Haley's voice came out high and shrill "Mom… Dad"

Nathan spun on his heels quickly, drew in his breath and stared wide eyed at two adults with bemused looks on their faces. He looked like a deer caught in headlights and was sure Haley looked the same behind him. Never had he met a girl's parents before, well, he had met Peyton's father, passing by as he dragged her out the door just to reach the car and fool around, but this was Haley and he had to make a good first impression. He racked his brain for a good icebreaker 'hello, Mr. and Mrs. James, nice to meet you' would have been nice, or perhaps an introduction as someone who liked and respected their daughter a lot, should he ignore the fact that they had just seen them in each other's arms in an empty house, play dumb? Or should he just face the situation full on?

During the process of figuring it all out, Nathan realized he was still frozen in place, he had to speak, he needed to say something. First impressions were everything

"I didn't get to second base, yet, Mr. and Mrs. James" he blurted out.

Nathan gulped, unable to even look at Haley's mortified face, his eyes wider than ever; looking at her parents. Yet? Yet? He didn't even end the sentence with 'second base', he ended it with 'yet', the first time he had ever met Haley's folks and he confessed his intentions of groping their daughter. After twenty agonizing seconds of unbearable silence, her dad muttered "well, that's a relief"

Bewildered, Nathan blinked a few times, as Haley's parents threw their head back and fell into fits of hysterics, laughing loudly. He sneaked a look at Haley, under his shoulder, who was face palming and shaking her head.

"Mum, dad, this is Nathan" said Haley awkwardly.

"Nice to finally meet you, Nathan" said Mrs. James, between laughter. She extended her hand towards the confounded boy who shook it apprehensively.

Then Mr. James shook hands with him as well and said "Haley doesn't stop talking about you"

"Dad!"

Haley's mouth dropped open. Her face flushed red. Nathan felt his face heat up as well.

"Just the truth, honey" said Jimmy, innocently.

Lydia interfered, saving them from further embarrassment by saying "breakfast?"

"I really should…"

"Oh, no you don't" warned Haley in a loud whisper "to the kitchen"

"Yes, ma'am"

So there they were, bustling around the kitchen. Once inside, Lydia started to beat eggs, Jimmy added flour to butter, Haley squeezed fresh oranges and they assigned fruit cutting to Nathan. In a few minutes, a mouthwatering breakfast of waffles, bananas and maple syrup was served next to four cups of orange juice.

Haley had swallowed her fourth bite when she asked "So why are you back so soon?"

"You mean other than to embarrass you?" asked Lydia.

She rolled her eyes at her mother "pretty much"

"We forgot to pack underwear and once we had already flipped them inside out…"

Nathan half-swallowed, half-choke laughed and orange juice came out of his nose; he fell into a coughing fit. Haley clapped between his shoulder blades steadily till it passed. "Couldn't have said "it's none of your business" and moved on?"

"Now where is the fun in that?" asked Jimmy, flicking a banana at his daughter who mischievously stole the last bit of waffle on his plate. Right in that small kitchen, Nathan felt warmth he hadn't felt in his large mansion.

###

Haley James was a lucky girl, or so thought her colleagues and classmates as she walked by them, fingers linked into Nathan Scott's. They have been throwing her dirty stares and eye rolls ever since he had come up behind her, and pecked her cheek. Nathan was by far, the most desirable guy in school, ever since he had taken his shirt off during warm ups in one of the games, and showed a chiseled to perfection body, the girls swooned and were sure it was a hundred degrees in January and Nathan's chest puffed, showing his Pecs off even more with a cocky lick of the lips, he knew what he had and he flaunted it.

The girls were accepting of the fact that Peyton and him dated, not that they liked it, but Peyton was a popular hot cheerleader and it made sense, also Nathan wasn't quite faithful and would flirt all around, so they mostly got a little of him. Haley on the other hand was a harder pill to swallow, not only were they unaware of her existence before Nathan gave her the eye, but they couldn't comprehend the jock liking the nerd, it was worse than Peyton, because he seemed absolutely smitten and happy with her, he hadn't even attempted looking at the other girls.

Even if they hadn't been together for long, word had spread around quickly. The only way to justify it was through sadistic options, some people had bets running around on the fact that Nathan would get into her pants then dump her, they gave it a week, others gave it ten days maximum, and a few of them even felt for the poor girl, as they figured she was a part of a prank that Nathan would unravel; humiliating her in front of the entire school.

Still, Nathan was pretty good at keeping up the act; he kissed her whenever he could, passed notes to her in class, and ditched his friends to be around Haley. And there they were, walking out of school together; they had a tutoring session.

For Nathan, it had been a long day. After he had breakfast with Haley and her family, he had to rush home for a quick shower and a change of clothes, when he had arrived, his father was gone but his mother was there. Nathan felt relieved and awkward when she threw her arms around him and showered his face in kisses, she promised him that their problems would soon be over and from the way she spoke, he knew Deb had kicked Dan out, he also figured his parents were getting a divorce; he was surprisingly fine with it. With a promise to get back and talk more to his mother, Nathan showered, got dressed and left for school in record timing, then between classes, as he headed for the gym, he saw a sign on the door.

 _Basketball canceled (until further notice)_

Guilt was eating Whitey up, ever since they had wheeled Nathan out of that gym. He had decided to stop the game, before he lost a boy to it. When Nathan had seen it, he hasn't sure how to feel; affection for the old man, perhaps, and relief at the lifted weight, definitely.

Him and Haley started walking along the river.

"How was your day?"

"Tutoring, Classes, more tutoring" she answered

"And how was your day?"

"Whitey cancelled basketball"

"Yeah, I saw, how are you dealing?"

"I am okay"

"Really?" she raised a skeptical brow.

"Yes" he bent down and gave her a kiss.

"Dude" Haley nudged him as soon as they broke free "I can't believe you told my parents you didn't get to second base with me"

"I panicked" he defended and Haley laughed "your parents are cool"

"Yes, they are, it kind of gets lonely without them, especially ever since Quinn has left for college"

"Well, you just call me whenever you feel lonely; I'll be there in a sec"

"I will do that"

"Your place?" inquired Nathan.

"Nope" Haley said casually "Library"

"I guess that's fair. So we are doing this at the public library? Huh? Feels like a step down from your bedroom" he teased.

"I am just keeping the lines clearly drawn, when we are studying, we are at the library"

"When we are not studying?" he asked.

"We can do whatever we want, whenever we want" she said, adding "within reason"

"Well, what do you say, we do whatever we want this weekend?" he asked, throwing an arm around her and pulling her close.

"Okay" she laughed with giddiness "you know you are really handling this 'no basketball' thing really well. Almost too well, you are kinda freaking me out"

Nathan sighed "I don't know, at first, when Whitey said we were gonna forfeit some games, I don't know, all I could think about was how we were slipping, the scouts losing interest and my dad coming down on me when he found out, then this calmness just kind of washed over me, as I realized that my dad wasn't gonna be there when I got home"

"How are you dealing with that?" she asked delicately, having already been given the headline when they bumped into each other between classes.

"I don't know. I don't really know what it is, yet. Mum just said they needed space to figure things out."

Phone ringing interrupted them, and Nathan looking at the screen, and said "it's my dad" he flipped it open as Haley looked away, trying and failing miserably at giving him some privacy, she could still hear Nathan's side though "Hello… yea, I know, I was gonna call you… right now?... (sigh)… alright… alright, I will talk to you later"

"I gotta go" he said as he hung up "he wants to meet me at the house"

"Is it nuclear?" she smiled.

"No, it's worse, it's totally rational. I will see you" he bent down for one more kiss and walked over to his dad's, shoulder slumped.

Haley bit her bottom lip "I will see you"

She hated what his parents were doing to him.

###

Dialing his number again, Haley bit her lips; she hated to be a needy nag but she was worried. After their walk the previous day, Nathan had called her to say that his father was dragging him off for a weekend getaway, approved by Deb, who seemed to be concerned as well. Nathan sounded miserable on the phone and refused to speak to his mother. Then as Haley tried calling him again to tell him about the open mic they were having at Karen's, he brashly said he would call her back and hung up. She hasn't heard from him since then. She didn't even hear Nathan, as he came up behind her, trying to call again

"Jerk never called you back, did he?" Haley turned around to see him, her nose wrinkling as her lips curled, feigning annoyance though it was obviously a concealed smile. She threw her arms around him "believe me, you don't want to talk to him anyways"

"What are you doing here?" said Haley as they pulled back.

"Listen! I am sorry…"

"No" she interrupted, lifting herself up on tiptoes and pressing her lips against his "I am glad you are back"

He smiled gratefully at her "yeah, me too" then with a grit of his teeth "it's like every time I am with him, I just get caught in this riptide, you know? The harder I try to get out, the harder it is to keep from drowning"

"Maybe you just need to steer clear of the water for a little while"

"Hey Nate" said Deb, who had come up behind him with two leftover dishes "I thought you weren't coming back till tomorrow, what happened?"

"We were keeping score mom. What do you think happened?" he said simply.

"Oh. Honey I am sorry, I should have known"

"Whatever. I am used to it" he responded with a melancholic smile, putting an arm around Haley and walking out. Deb shook her head in disappointment; he shouldn't be used to it.

"This is pretty awesome" he complimented Haley at the crowd; Gavin Degraw had just walked in. She smiled at him with affection.

Then Lucas poked her in the elbow and she took an instinctive step away from Nathan, who squared up to the blond, however, Lucas came with good intentions "listen man, some of the guys and I are gonna go down to the river court, I wanted to know if you and the team wanted to come"

"Why?" asked Nathan distrustfully

"Because, it's fun, don't you remember?"

Warmth and admiration filled Haley when she realized that Lucas was making the effort for her, after he left, Nathan looked as though he was about to be swayed, at least the contemplation on his face seemed to say he didn't think Lucas was as bad as he once thought. She nudged him playfully and he gave her a shy smile.

Peyton nodded at her from afar

"That is my queue" Haley said, running up on stage, she spoke into the microphone "alright, ladies and gentlemen; give it up for Gavin Degraw"

As Haley got off stage towards a very proud Nathan, the musician started belting 'I don't want to be', the crowd begin dancing and soon enough they were hyped up at the hard rock song. Haley was resting her head on Nathan's chest, as they swayed to the beat.

"Are you going to the game?"

Nathan shrugged "Will you be my cheerleader?"

She smiled; looking at the stage, knowing that meant a yes.

Cheering on Nathan had never been easier, Lucas and he were playing together as though there weren't any grudges between them, at one point he high-fived Junk; a sight Haley never thought she would see, and he was happy. Jumping, scoring and rejoicing.

She sat with Peyton and Brooke, whilst Peyton stayed silent, Brooke and Haley had a bit of a friendly competition going on, Brooke was rooting for Lucas and Haley was rooting for Nathan, on the other hand, Peyton had rolled her eyes for the thousandth time before she reminded them yet again that Nathan and Lucas were on the same team, she also checked out Jake every chance she got. Nevertheless, all three girls were having great fun and Haley figured having some girl friends would be a nice change, despite of how different they all are.

"Go Nathan!" cheered Haley.

"Yay Lucas!" responded Brooke.

"Go Jenny! yay Jenny!" Peyton held the baby at eyelevel and was cooing sarcastically at their antics, the toddler giggled, taking a hold of Peyton's blonde curls in her little chubby hands.

The game had ended in favor of Nathan and Lucas' team, and both girls called a truce and decided reluctantly that both of them had won the bet.

"Alright, everyone take what's yours and let's go" someone called out.

With a quick nod, Nathan swiftly moved towards Haley, bent down and encircled an arm around her knees. Haley squealed as he threw her over his shoulder, blushing, when some people wooed and cheered. He laughed loudly.

"Nathan!"

He took off jogging as though she were as weighty as a feather. They were out of sight when he finally gave in to her biting and pestering to be let down. Hand in hand, they continued their way, he had told her about his confession on taking drugs to his dad and she was telling him about her time while he was away

"And believe it or not, Lucas and Brooke Davis have a thing for each other"

"Brooke? That is one for the headlines. I thought he was into Peyton"

"He was- I mean is- I mean- ugghh, I don' know." She frowned "but that was fine with you, right? I mean the whole Peyton thing"

"Yeah" Nathan shrugged "why wouldn't it be?"

"I mean, I know that…"

"Hey, I already have the girl that I like with me" he responded, looking at her sincerely. She smiled, looking down; he asked "How do you feel about the Brooke thing?"

"I don't know what to think, I mean I am happy if Lucas is happy, but I mean they are so different"

"Like we are?"

"That's what Luke told me, that you and I don't really have anything in common either,"

"And what did you say?"

She was silent for a couple of seconds "Nothing"

"Liar"

"I told him that he didn't know you like I do" she responded with a roll of her eyes, then caught a glimpse of his expression "wipe that cocky smile off your face"

"What? I wasn't smiling" though the corners of his mouth went up again


	10. Of ruined pants, train rides&short girls

**1x11**

 **Of ruined pants, train rides and short girls**

 **Thank you so much for sticking around, if you have, I realize I don't update frequently, I am kind of busy, and I am also juggling another fanfiction and a book idea. I hope you enjoy this chapter and of course don't forget to review, they help me improve my writing. If you like this chapter, share it, maybe others could remember how amazing OTH and naley are.**

"Your hand touching mine, this is how galaxies collide."  
— **Sanober Khan**

Song Muse: You make me smile by Uncle Kracker

Of all the sights Haley might have thought she would see in her life, Nathan and Lucas standing together and having a-what seemed to be- civil conversation; as in; not throwing punches or spitting, was by far the oddest. Well, perhaps not, after all, just a few seconds ago, she was almost skidding because her next class was with her new boyfriend; Nathan Scott, and the idea of them being in close proximity of each other was unlikely, much less them starting a relationship. Still, it happened.

Haley slowed her steps impatiently, trying hard to listen in on the conversation, she walked closer to Nathan as Lucas went on his way, and asked "am I hallucinating or did I just see you talking to Lucas?"

"No, he was trying to talk to me; the whole nice guy thing is wearing kind of thin"

She resisted the urge to push him further and nudged him playfully "you wanna walk to English together?"

"Actually I think I am gonna cut out of here a little bit early" he said, looking down at her softly "you wanna join me?"

"Are you serious?" Haley scrunched up her face.

Nathan shrugged "Yeah, why not… Are you up for it?"

Her perfect 4.0 GPA flashed before her eyes and she stammered, laughing "I- I can't Nathan"

He sighed, nodding as he put a hand on her shoulder "Ok, look, I gotta get out of here. So… I will catch you later"

"Okay" Haley whispered, her grades still engraved in her head, with an image of disappointed Nathan, walking away, making an appearance.

Grades… Nathan … Grades… Nathan… Grades…

What grades?

It took her exactly half a second to decide where her priorities were, and she felt like beating herself for it "you know what?" she called out, spinning on her heels and going over to him "catch me now"

His face broke into a smile as he pulled her in close, putting an arm around her shoulder as her arm rested against his backpack and they left school together. Every passing second with Nathan, Haley felt more dauntless. Even though her palms sweated at the thought of a teacher catching them, she wiped the clamminess on his bag and pretended all was well. Gradually, when they were finally out of the place, Haley was all excitement and zero worry, simply enjoying his company. She thought they would go for a walk or maybe get a drink, of course they would be running the risk of a parent seeing them. Maybe that was a bad idea.

"Wanna go to the beach?" he interrupted her thoughts.

"The beach?" she frowned, laughing "Nathan that is miles from here, we can't walk that far"

"Who said anything about walking?"

Haley didn't like the sound of that, but let herself be carried away by Nathan anyway. Sure enough, moments later they were in front of Dan Scott Motors. Haley's eyes widened and she clutched his arm in an iron grip, hissing "No! Nathan, you can't be thinking of asking your dad for a ride. Do you have a death wish?"

"My dad is in Charlotte all weekend, come on, choose your ride"

"What if someone else sees us?" Haley said between gritted teeth.

"They work for Dan Scott; they are underpaid and overworked, so they won't really care"

"Exactly" defied Haley "they work for Dan Scott, which means that if he finds out, they will admit to it before your dad ends them"

"Well, I have never been caught" responded Nathan with a proud smile "and its lunch time, they are in the back"

With hesitation, Haley followed, the place was indeed vacant, quickly they made their way into Dan's office, and Nathan took out his key chain, jiggling a small key in front of her "always good to have a spare"

She shook her head, smiling "ok, well hurry up"

Nathan opened the cabinet holding the car keys as quietly as possible, scanning with his eyes quickly before exclaiming "aha" and pulling one off its hook. He had just barely closed the cabinet when a voice exclaimed "Mr. Scott"

Haley spun around suddenly, the color drained from her face, you wouldn't think she was even alive, her mouth went utterly dry as she was faced with a forty something year old man in a janitor's uniform with a mop in hand. Haley opened her mouth to say something but couldn't, Nathan on the other hand kept a composed exterior, nodding towards the man "Stu, did you see my calculus book?"

The man scratched his head, deep in thought "No, I don't think so"

"Oh" Nathan feigned disappointment "I was sure, I left it here, okay, well if you find it keep it for me" he nodded with a curt smile, the car key still hidden in his enclosed palm. Haley found a chance to breathe again, with things going smoothly and even managed a shaky smile of her own, as Nathan put a hand on her back; the key poking at her a little and led her out the door.

Feeling was regained in her limbs and her thoughts were untangling once more, Haley breathed a sigh of relief, laughing, this was oddly enthralling, even more than when she stole candy in second grade.

When she saw Nathan get into a convertible, her first thoughts were "this can't be real, I can't be actually doing this" but she was! Haley James was skipping school to go to the beach, she jumped up and down, clapping, glee about to burst from her, and she ran towards the passenger seat, Nathan leaned over to open the door for her.

"Oh my God" she exclaimed.

"Nice, huh?"

Nathan was half-focused on the road, half-focused on Haley, crinkles of happiness appeared around his eyes, as his smile widened; watching her, lean against the door and look at the clear blue sky. The soft breeze blowing through her hair; she looked really peaceful and content. Nathan couldn't help pull her closer, she calmly leaned against his chest and closed her eyes; he stirred the wheel with one arm, the other draped across her shoulder.

Haley opened her eyes when she felt the car stopping "Nathan, that's not the beach"

"I know" he said, they were parked in front of a convenience store "just wait here"

Nathan jumped out of the car and headed towards the door of the store, Haley scanned the parking lot, jumping slightly at any car passing by and hiding her face behind her hair, after the fourth car or so; she pulled a crocheted hat out of her bag, securing it over her head in a cover up attempt. Though she wasn't sure how it would do that, her mom took on crocheting a few years ago and made her articles of clothing, meant to stand out; this one in particular, resembled a turned over bird's nest of some sort, of multiple colors; white, pink, blue, red and green; all in one hat. Still, it was better than the dress that she knit for Quinn, the one she had to wear last Christmas photo.

"Your mom?" guessed Nathan, who was opening the door.

Startled, Haley jumped up a little, and then she nodded proudly.

He placed a shopping bag on her lap, wrinkling his nose, as he continued to stare at her head "maybe you misunderstood, are you sure it's supposed to be a hat?"

"Shut up" she rolled her eyes, fishing inside the bag "What did you get?"

"Just something for fun"

"Vodka?! Nathan! How did you get this?" she whispered loudly, her eyes wide.

Nathan flashed a fake ID "courtesy of Brooke Davis"

"You do know that you can get arrested for this, don't you?"

"Stop worrying, Hales" he said with a smile "open it"

"No, you are dreaming, if you think I would let your drink while driving"

A look of incredulity came over Nathan's face "you think I would drink with you in the car? Come on, drink up"

"You better not drink and drive, whether I am in the car or not, mister" said Haley, looking appalled.

"Promise, we are here"

They pulled up in front of the Scott's beach house, Haley always felt astounded by how large it is. Nathan grabbed the bag and walked towards a nice spot on the sand, sitting down, pulling the bottle out, along with two plastic cups. He poured some into them, as Haley sat right next to him.

"Ladies first" he announced, holding up a cup in front of her.

With a sigh, she pulled the cup from his hand, a little eager to try it. She barely took a sip before a flaming sensation passed through her throat; Haley coughed and gagged, trying to spit out the vile drink "Ughh, this is awful"

"What? You never had vodka before?" Nathan slapped her back a few times gently.

"We are sixteen, Nathan, we aren't supposed to be drinking at all" said Haley in a strangled voice, though she took another sip, this time only coughing a little. Nathan started drinking as well.

"Hmm" she moaned, satisfied, as her throat began getting used to the drink "I love the sea breeze"

"So do, I" he said softly "I would always come here when I need a pick me up"

"Yeah, believe me I know" Haley laughed a little "you know how many hung-over students I would have after one of your parties."

"Nah, I never asked anyone to come with me, until today"

The warmth in the pit of her stomach wasn't just caused by the alcohol anymore "Well, I am glad you asked me"

"Me too" he said, pouring them another drink "you, booze, a stolen car and the beach… doesn't get better than this"

The air felt almost tangible with a glow light quality and Haley loved it, the world seemed mystifying and magical, Nathan had finished his third cup and she was quick to do so, as well. _He is so hot,_ she thought, her eyes drifting to his body, as she extended her hand; for another drink.

"This stuff is great" Haley said in all seriousness, about the 15.99 bottle, her speech slow, trying to calculate a proper thought from her sober self "so, are we trying to get killed?"

"I told you, my dad is in Charlotte; it is okay" Nathan seemed to have better hold on himself, though he slurred a little. Her eyes stayed fixated on his, too close to his face, breathing the scent of rubbing alcohol into his nostrils, he grabbed the bottle and poured her more "I have never seen you like this"

"Well, now you have" she said simply, her eyes droopy and a peaceful silly look plastered on her face, _he is so hottttttt_ , beaming, she went to kiss his soft lips. It was all hazy, jumbled and ever so blissful; Nathan responded, enthusiastically, and they were trapped in a heavenly place of kisses and joy, she lifted herself up, to try and match his height, sitting down, and wrapped an arm around his neck; much like a drowning person would hang on to a floating aid.

When they pulled back there was laughter, and Nathan suggested "let's go inside" as their noses, pressed against the others'.

"Okay" Haley giggled, without hesitation.

Nathan was first to get up, with slightly uncoordinated movements and sand sticking to the back of his jeans. He looked over at Haley, whose legs flailed midair for a couple of seconds; trying to regain a footing, before she turned around completely, the gears in her head working hard to turn her onto her knees and make her hands push on the ground and help her up. She swayed a little, once she was standing "Wow, wow" Haley said; sure they were on quicksand.

"Don't worry, I'll carry you" he responded confidently, being Haley's first time, and how tiny she was, the liquor didn't have as much of an effect on him, though he did lean to one side a little bit, as they moved to the pier. Right in front of the steps, Nathan bent down.

"Okay" said Haley "One… three…five"

She jumped up, throwing her weight on his back, holding onto her hat. Nathan's arms were behind his back, holding her around the kneecaps, so she wouldn't fall off.

"You got it?" asked Nathan, to make sure she was holding on tight.

Haley enclosed her arms around his shoulders "Yeah, I am good"

"You got it" he repeated before he straightened up.

Nathan climbed the first step, the world spun around fast, not like the first time they had kissed, but like that awful spinning ride at the amusement park; her parents took to as a child "Wow, wow! Stop moving the pier", she looked down and the stairs seemed impossible to climb at that point; much less with someone on one's shoulder, his legs appearing longer than they were and grounding looking incredibly far "you are strong!" she marveled in his ear.

He smiled at her silliness, though it was short-lived; staring at them intensely, as they looked up, was the angry face of Dan.

 _"_ _Uh oh"_ thought Haley.

"Nice knowing you" said Nathan gloomily.

Haley bent her head, hiding her face behind Nathan, hoping that if she couldn't see Dan, then he wouldn't be able to see her either, though her sober self would realize that theory never worked for ostriches, much less for her. Drunken Haley was positive, that it made perfect sense. That was the reason, for her mystification, when Dan was in front of them; fuming, his hands reaching for her.

"Wait, dad, we didn't…" tried Nathan, when his dad pulled Haley off his back.

"You skip basketball for this"

He calmed slightly when he realized his father's anger was targeted more towards him than towards Haley. Dan started walking down the stairs, his grip on Haley's arm not too loose and not too hard "you should be in the gym all day, instead you steal my car and get drunk"

Haley felt queasy, the insides of her stomach churning. "I…"

"You've got Mason bowl next week and this is how you are training?"

A little embarrassed at being scolded in front of his girl, Nathan asked, getting into the back seat of his dad's car "can we do this later?"

"There may not be a later for you" said Dan, as he opened the passenger door for Haley, slightly nudging her inside.

"Oh, oh, Mr. Scott" Haley tried to warn, as her stomach turned some more and she felt something inside come up in reverse.

"Was I talking to you?" Dan asked irritably, slamming her door "get in the car, I am driving you both home"

From his view of Haley's face, Nathan could almost spot a greenish tint, her head lifted a little, as it looked like she was trying to swallow back something, before he could wonder what that was about, his dad had got into the car, slamming the door behind him "your mother is gonna love this, you getting drunk on her watch…"

Nope, she couldn't keep it in any longer. Haley vomited entirely on Dan Scott's designer- tailored- cost more than her entire wardrobe- pants. Nathan shrunk back in his seat, as Dan looked with disbelief at the tarnishing of his clothes; he hoped that when his dad killed them, it would be quick and painless. Haley, on the other hand, simply groaned, waved the odor away with her hand, and turned towards the window, acting as though she hadn't done anything.

###

"No," Haley objected to the onslaught of the sun; acting like an anvil dropping on her head, she covered her eyes with a pillow.

Sick to her very core, Haley jumped up, to run to the bathroom; but was unable to, as soon as her bare feet hit the ground; she emptied the contents of her stomach on her bedroom's floor, groaning, as she remembered the previous night's event. After she had puked on Dan's pants, the older man didn't say a word; instead he drove her home, a vein popping in his head, prominent and pulsing. Nathan softly gave him directions; however, his whispers were like the ringing of Notre dame bells next to her ears. She tiredly said "Goodbye Mr. Scott", but the man simply clenched his jaw and gripped the wheel tighter.

After that, she had to go to Karen's café for her waitressing shift, a whole pot of coffee wasn't sufficient; she served people grouchily, snapped back when Lucas blamed Nathan for making her skip school; it was her decision after all, and shrieked from any source of light. She had tried calling Nathan, but he didn't answer and Haley prayed his dad wasn't too hard on him.

Getting dressed was a little easier that morning, her headache and nausea lessening significantly. She had exactly 6 minutes to get ready for school, so, she threw on the first two things she found in her closet, threw the books that she needed, in her bag and headed for the door, but not before putting the tarnished rug in the washer, whilst brushing her hair and teeth simultaneously. Haley managed to arrive to school on time, and was greeted by Mr. Kelly.

"Miss James, a word?"

She swallowed "sure, Mr. Kelly"

"You know I could've sworn, I saw you yesterday at School. But when it came time for my class, you weren't around." He pulled out a sheet of paper, with her name and a big bold F in red "I had to fail you"

"Failed?" her mouth dropped open "I didn't know there was a quiz"

"A pop quiz"

"But I wasn't aware" she whispered loudly, still in shock; her GPA mocking her.

He smiled "Well, that is the pop part"

"I am sorry, Mr. Kelly, I got really sick before your class"

"Oh, well, do you have a note from the nurse?"

"I- no- actually, no- I don't, ummm… I couldn't wait, I think the muffin I had for breakfast was bad" she lied "please, Mr. Kelly, this is really important to me"

The teacher sighed "under different circumstances, I wouldn't have agreed, however, I would hate to see you lose your perfect score, over a stomach bug, you may retake the quiz"

With a smile, Haley said "thank you"

"See, that it doesn't happen again, and if it does, I need a note from the nurse"

She nodded in affirmation.

"I understand"

"You can retake the quiz tomorrow, after school, Miss. James"

Eventually, it was time for her session with Nathan, Haley sat at the tutor center waiting, she had requested for her free period to correlate with his; to give him more tutoring hours, and to give her more Nathan time. She pondered on that, before Nathan, skipping school wouldn't have been an issue; because there was no way, she would've done it, but after Nathan appeared in her life, and made her feel things, she never had; Haley's logic took a seat and left full control to her heart.

Nathan was fifteen minutes late, and Haley was beginning to think he wouldn't show up, she had started packing her things when she looked up and saw him.

"Oh, hey" she said, as he took a seat "I almost gave up on you"

"Lost track, sorry"

She weakly said "it's okay"

Looking at her tired appearance, tugged on Nathan's heartstrings, she was the most adorable thing ever; he tilted his head to one side, and put a hand on her shoulder, softly asking "are you still hungover?"

"I am not as bad as your dad's pants"

Nathan huffed, a laugh "how great was that?"

"Horrible" Haley said, covering her face with her hands. He chuckled. Wanting to change the subject, she continued "Let's just tackle some geometry, okay?"

"Or… 'bottle rockets' is playing at this theater downtown. We can take the train" he innocently suggested.

"Are you serious?" she asked, amazed and sort of exasperated.

"I promise, I won't get you drunk, okay?"

There was a playful smile dancing on his lips and Haley's world was lost in the beauty. Long forgotten were her grades, her life, her home and that conversation she had with Mr. Kelly. It all narrowed down to Nathan and his dreamy smile. She hadn't even realized her lips were stretched in a huge grin, trying not to look like a total pushover, Haley teased "we are doing equations on the train"

"Alright, it's not exactly risky business, but there is always the ride back"

She huffed out a laugh. What was this hold Nathan Scott had on her? And why was it worth the trouble?

He caught a glimpse of an F written in bold on the corner of a piece of paper, and pulled it quickly, asking "is this one mine?"

"No, I…" Haley said offhandedly, he saw her name written on the top of the page "this girl I know missed a pop quiz in English Lit yesterday"

"Haley" said Nathan in disappointment "you got an F?"

"Look, Mr. Kelly said that I can make it up, it's not that big a deal" Haley said, getting up and going behind him; she pulled the paper from his hand "It's shocking, I human I know" then she leaned down and hastily whispered "let's go" giving him a peck on the cheek and running off, she didn't notice the sadness in his eyes.

He followed her with a slumped shoulder. This was his fault.

###

Outside, the world passed by in a gleaming blur, almost like mixing colors in a palette. It was wondrous and magical, even if the train wouldn't slow down; it was still to be appreciated.

"Haley, I thought we were going to do equations" said Nathan, to the girl who had been looking outside the window for a long time, smiling at the scenery.

"Huh? Yeah, we are… it's just" she stopped and gasped, alarming him, and whispered enchanted "Nathan, look at those wild purple flowers, they are so beautiful"

"Yeah"

But when Haley looked back, Nathan wasn't looking out the window; instead his eyes were fixated on her face, she nervously laughed; scrunching up her nose. His heart did cartwheels.

"Okay, umm…" she cleared her throat, pulling the calculus book from her bag "Math! Page twelve, the first equation"

If his handwriting was messy before, it had become a lot worse with the bouncing, Nathan started breaking the complexity into patterns of numbers, symbols and theories; scribbling and scratching. He looked up at her for a hint every now and then, but Haley was unyielding; making him solve them on his own. Idly, Nathan threw an arm around her, pulling her closer, and using the other arm to continue writing.

Haley could hear the steady rhythm of his beating heart, echoing in her ear, she closed her eyes enjoying it "don't forget to differentiate. So what did your dad do? After you dropped me off last night"

Her head moved as he shrugged "100 laps"

Eyes snapping open, Haley tilted her head up "he made you run? I could barely walk"

"That's probably because you are half my size, short-pants"

She pushed his head in feigned annoyance; hiding a smile, then went back to squishing her cheek against his chest

"I had never done anything like that" Haley distantly whispered, feeling Nathan tense up "what's wrong?"

"Nothing" Nathan lied, pushing the book towards her "how did I do?"

"Correct, correct, correct… reread that step …" she pointed at a certain part of the equation, he looked deep in thought for two seconds before fixing the mistake on the paper "perfect, now, the next one" she smiled at the look of pride on his face, as he started on the second question.

Equation after equation, Haley shut her eyes as Nathan absentmindedly, played with her hair, running his fingers through the brunette soft strands and stroking her temple; she hummed in appreciation. Not long enough had passed; when Nathan shook her awake "Hales, we are here"

Haley came to the train halting at the bustling station; people ran back and forth, never once stopping to see who passes them by. She didn't really like this part of tree hill as much as she liked where they lived, it was much more comfortable and quieter there. Nathan took her hand in his, as the gates opened and they got off the train.

They looked onto the station together, it was like another world, being quarter to ten in the morning, and people were still rushing around the place, pushing and shoving, trying to get to their daily business. Nathan put Haley in his jacket and his arm acted as a shield to her a couple of times, pushing people away gently before they bumped into her; not that they noticed, people were so used to that downtown.

"Ahhhaa sun… air… kind gentle world. I was beginning to think I wouldn't see you again" exclaimed Haley; throwing her arms in the air, as soon as they had gone of the station and Nathan took her out of his jacket.

"Alright" he said, with a cocked eyebrow "did you want to get trampled?"

"When are the short jokes going to stop?" Haley asked, rolling her eyes.

"Probably when you reach sixth grade"

"Have you considered that maybe I am normal sized and you are the gigantic freak?"

"Oh, so you think I am too tall" said Nathan, with a seductive raise of his eyebrow, moving closer to Haley, who was taking steps back, until finally, he pinned her to a nearby building "because if I was shorter I wouldn't be able to do this"

Her breath labored and her body trembled, as he bent closer, his face entirely serious; eyebrows rushed together, jaws clenched and eyes gleaming. Haley's eyes fluttered before closing, feeling Nathan's warm breath on her lips and his rough fingers stroking her hair, moving to her shoulders, and down her arms, until finally he reached her waist. With ease, he picked her up to his height; trapping her against the wall with his body, Haley quickly wrapped her legs around his waist, their lips crashing together.

As their kiss deepened, Haley felt grateful for Nathan's strong body holding her in place; otherwise she would've collapsed, overwhelmed with weakness and strength simultaneously, her fingers ran through his hair; pawing at his scalp frantically. Suddenly, a gust of air escaped her lip, blowing right into Nathan's mouth as she laughed; Nathan had started tickling her, Haley writhed as his fingers prodded her sides, her mouth open in a silent scream-laugh, only letting out broken little guffaws every few seconds, and her legs flailed about around his waist.

"Na-Nath-Nathannn-Stoouuuhhahahahaaha"

"I can't understand you" Nathan, faked oblivion, his eyes brows drawn together in confusion.

"Nattthhhahahahahahaha"

"Alright" he grinned, letting her down.

"Jerk" she said, slapping his shoulder, trying to regain her breath, her lips curled to hide a smile and Nathan chuckled, because this time, when she said it, there wasn't any contempt nor disappointment in her eyes.

"Man, I love your laugh"

Amongst the main street, Nathan and Haley realized some people had stopped to look at them, a few were laughing; especially children and some were staring in awe. Haley felt her cheeks flame up. "Nathan, people are staring"

"They should, have you seen how beautiful you look?"

Her rosy face turned fully red.

Bottle rockets were performing ten minutes away by foot, at noon exactly; they could go and make it back by time for Haley's shift at Karen's. The band wasn't something, she would normally listen to, their music, a mixture between country and rock; rough around the edges, honest to the point of being uncomfortable; Haley enjoyed different types of music. Yet, when she had arrived with Nathan, something about the vibes carried in the air from the guitars and the vocals, hooked her, she started swaying to the raw energy of the songs.

Nathan perceived how the sun turned her hazel eyes into a warm honey color, how her bouncy hair launched the aroma of jasmine into his nostrils, and how her smile lit up her face like the Christmas tree in Rockefeller center. He leaned, kissed the spot behind her ear and asked "was this the first F you ever got?"

Haley absentmindedly nodded, cheering as the song ended. She didn't notice that he was looking at her with a dejected expression.

"Nathan, this is amazing. Thank you" she rejoiced, and he softly smiled at her.

As the next song "I don't wanna go back" started, Haley pulled Nathan's head down with dainty hands, leaving a lingering kiss on the bridge of his nose. When she pulled back, a woman was standing in front of her, statuesque, obstructing her view of the stage; she reminded Haley of her sister Quinn's built. Annoyed, she tried to look from over her shoulder, under her arm, but the girl moved around so much Haley couldn't see anything. Chuckling, Nathan tapped her back, and then crouched down. She swung her leg around, mounting his shoulder; he made sure she had adjusted herself before he stood up slowly. Then Haley was on top of the world, well, at least on top of the crowd, getting great view of the stage.

Their fingers intertwined, and Haley's body felt weightless; like a feather floating in midair as Nathan swayed them back and forth, he would look up to Haley mouthing the lyrics, sometimes messing up completely, nevertheless, that didn't stop her, she would simply beam at him.

Taking advantage of his head being raised up towards her, Haley brought her face down, capturing his bottom lip into her own; the breath from his nose tickled her throat, whilst his vision was completely obstructed by the hem of her sweater. By that time, the sun was beating down savagely on Haley's exposed skin; her hair thrown forward, down Nathan's chest, she could almost feel the freckles appear on the back of her neck. When the kiss broke, they both felt giddy and faint, almost how they felt when the chugged down a bottle of vodka, except for the nausea. Like they were drunk, drunk in love, the thought sent a jolt in Nathan's body.

He felt her flounder about suddenly, almost losing her balance, his hand grabbed at her thigh roughly, before she fell off. But Haley wouldn't help him. Nathan looked at her face to see a pure fright; wide eyes were fixated on a point far off.

"Hales, calm down what is it?" he tried, as she thrashed about. He put her down, as gently as he could, her nails dug into his arm, breaking skin. She hid behind him and he squared up his shoulder, trying to protect her from some sort of danger, only he didn't know what it was "Haley! What happened?"

His mind raced, the first thought was someone was making eyes at her and he prepared himself to knock the person out, but why would Haley be afraid of that. Bullies…killers… rapists… someone trying to hurt her… someone has a gun… all of those were options he considered, he didn't however consider what Haley would say.

"Clown"

"What?"

Her arm wrapped around his neck, pulling him back, his knees bent as he leaned backwards, for a tiny girl she sure had a tight grip. She squealed "Clown!"

There he stood, far off, handing little kids balloons and doing a weird penguin waddle with his gigantic red and green shoes, he was wearing a bright red circular nose, per usual, a large purple curly wig and a tiny hat with a flower on top. The kids were circling him, playing and laughing, for an observer, this might be a cute sight, but Haley was looking at him like he was Jack the ripper.

"Haley, I don't understand" he tried to softly massage her arm, to get it off him.

She let out a tiny scream, when he made a sword out of a pink balloon "I hate clowns! They scare me… Nathan, don't laugh at me."

"I am not laughing at you"

"Yes, you are, I can see your lips turning up"

"No, I am not. I am not" he ran his hand over his mouth, keeping a straight face "Look; it is okay, come on, nothing will happen to you. I am here"

Reluctantly, Haley let go off his neck, drawing herself closer to his side. Still, Nathan could sense her discomfort from how stiff she seemed, and how her scared eyes wouldn't look away from the clown "do you want to go?"

Haley nodded with an apologetic look.

On the ride back, Haley sheepishly said "I am sorry"

But the truth was, he wanted to apologize. Thinking back to his relationship with Peyton, all the fighting over different perspectives, all the times her fear was whining, and her opinions were bitching. The details he wouldn't care to remember, the times he chose his own pleasures over hers, and the total disregard for her feelings; he looked at Haley and couldn't ever picture doing that to her.

Her pain was his, and so was her happiness. Nathan felt all of that, and he still dragged her out of class, got her drunk, and made her get an F. He had feelings for the dorky tutor girl, with weird comebacks, a fear of clowns and the biggest heart of anyone, he had ever met. That was why, as they parted ways and went home, Nathan knew that he was the one who had to apologize, and he would do it tomorrow. He would tell her that he didn't want her to change.


	11. Note

I am posting this to both my fanfictions, to assure you that I am still alive, and I haven't given up on them, I had to travel for work, then got very busy, then sick and now I am trying to get back into the groove and rewriting (also rereading, and finding many things I hate about my stories). So anyway, I am just checking in, also to tell I want to make some fanvideos related to my fanfictions, that should be fun (I already made a couple of naley videos before, if you wanna see them send me a personal message) and I hope you haven't given up on me. Also to ask, what do you think will happen next in the fanfiction? What are your opinions? What will I focus on...etc?

Loads of love.


	12. Of ambushes, family dinner & great knees

Yes, I am still alive y'all. I know this took me forever but I have so much on my plate right now, I have two jobs and I am writing two other naley fanfictions (Lab rats- which you can find here) and another one is pending, I would love if you gave them a read and tell me what you think, also thank you for still being here, if you are, I really appreciate the reviews, they put such a smile on my face, so don't forget to always leave your opinion. xx

 **Of ambushes, family dinners and great knees**

"Vulnerability is the birthplace of love, belonging, joy, courage, empathy, and creativity. It is the source of hope, empathy, accountability, and authenticity. If we want greater clarity in our purpose or deeper and more meaningful spiritual lives, vulnerability is the path."  
― **Brené Brown.**

 **Song Muse:** Lift me up by the Afters.

He couldn't believe that his mother would leave him alone in this situation, actually, he could believe it; he just hated it. After, Royal and May; his grandparents, had ambushed (surprised) them with a visit, for his dad's birthday; seemingly unaware that Dan hasn't been living in the house for some time, his own mother bailed on him, and excused herself, saying she had to work.

Of course, Nathan knew she was headed to see Dan, before her shift at Karen's, still he couldn't help but feel a little resentful.

His grandfather was grouchy about the entire situation and the cold welcome, while his grandmother tried breaking the tension by asking Nathan about school and his life, to which he gave short polite answers, and after a little while; even if it didn't seem that way to Nathan, they decided to get up and go to the hotel they are staying in.

Grandma May planted a big wet sloppy kiss on his cheek before getting in the taxi, with her husband, and Nathan waited until they were out of sight, before getting inside the house.

Nathan ran upstairs, and in record timing, took a shower, got dressed, finished the homework Haley had given him, and ran out to see her; he needed his daily dosage of his girlfriend.

The walk to the café was neither long nor short enough that day, normally, he would be so anxious to see Haley, that it would seem the way to the café is never ending, but that day in particular, Nathan found himself thinking of a million things; his grandparents, his dad, the questions arising at dinner time, how would they react that he quit basketball, would he tell them? Should he? How will it be between his parents? He knew they were working on some major issues to fix their marriage, that was still unsettled. So many things crossed his mind, that he almost missed the café, but he didn't; because as soon as he caught glimpse of the tiny brunette wearing an apron, he was snapped out of his thoughts.

The door jingled when he entered Karen's, Haley was moving between customers with a coffee jug and a smile, when she saw Nathan, she placed it down; the coffee, not the smile and gave him a lingering kiss.

"What's wrong?" Haley asked as soon as they pulled away.

Nathan frowned "Why would you think something is wrong?"

"Your face. Your kiss" she responded softly "what happened?"

Before Nathan could speak, a customer called out "excuse me, could I get some more coffee?"

"Sure" Haley smiled, going over, to pour the man his hot drink.

Nathan startled her, by sneaking up from behind and whispering in her ear "let's get out of here"

"I can't, my shift doesn't end for…"

"My mum can handle it" he interrupted "come on"

"Okay, um, hang on" she grabbed her coat and called out "Mrs. Scott"

Deb appeared from the back, a towel in hand, seeing her son "oh, hi honey"

"Mrs. Scott, I n…"

He interrupted again "Haley and I will take a walk for a little while"

"If you need me here, maybe I should…"

"She can handle it, can't you. mum?" he said with a clenched jaw.

His mother, who already felt awful at leaving her son with Royal, the grinch, smiled curtly "go ahead, have fun, I got this"

"Thank you, Mrs. Scott"

Deb waved at them, as Nathan shot her a sucks-doesn't-it look.

"So, are you pissed off at her or what?" Haley laughed as they walked out, Nathan simply shrugged, it was more of a rhetorical question.

"I haven't had the best morning"

The breeze on that particular day, sufficed to make Haley feel refreshed, but she also felt a little chilly; she buttoned up her maroon coat "Why?"

"My grandparents came by the house"

"Oh!" Haley responded excitedly

"On my dad's side"

"Oh" her voice lowered.

"And reminded us, that today is dad's birthday"

"But why would they come to you?" asked Haley, frowning "your dad doesn't even live at your house anymore."  
"Yeah, my parents never told them, you see, they aren't the most progressive people"

"I see, how did they react?"

"We still haven't told them, and they invited themselves over for a birthday dinner tonight, which means me, my mum and dad, with my grandparents and uncle Keith"

"An assembly of Scotts"

"Yeah"

He didn't look thrilled, Haley guessed "so this dinner thing, it's gonna be pretty bad, huh?"

"A massacre. My grandma is okay, it's just my grandpa is pretty intense" he looked down at Haley, who gave him a sympathetic look "you have met my dad, just imagine where he comes from"

Haley shivered "scary"

"Yeah. You should come tonight, maybe it will make everybody behave"

She chuckled a little, then paused and pointedly said "I will come if you want me to"

"No" Nathan responded a little dejected "I wasn't serious, I wouldn't put you through that"

"I mean, if you are asking, of course" Haley tried again "my answer is yes"

"Well, then I am asking"

Haley flirted "well, then I am coming" and his smile widened, as he looked down.

"At least I have something to look forward to" Nathan said, putting his arm around her.

Feeling content, Haley leaned her head on his chest, walking together. After a peaceful moment of silence, she asked "so, what should I get?"

"Get?"

"As a present, for your dad's birthday"

"Um" Nathan stammered, running his hands through his hair "I don't know, I wasn't counting on getting him anything this year, he never really likes what I get anyway"

"Nathan" Haley chuckled "last time I saw your dad, we had skipped school, got drunk and I puked on his pants. I am not going to his birthday empty handed, he might throw me out the window"

He shrugged "don't worry, I am sure he will fling me out first, then I will break your fall"

"As reassuring as that is, I still want to buy him something. What does he like?"

"Busting my balls"

Haley rolled her eyes "what else?"

"Basketball"

"Which I know squat about, got anything else"

"Scotch"

"I am not going anywhere near that man with liquor"

"Hurting my mum"

"So, what do I do? Bitch-slap the woman while chugging alcohol and shooting a basketball at your balls"

"That would be like an early Christmas for dad"

###

There was absolutely no reason for Haley to wear her plaid skirt, unless she was going to church, or Dan Scott's birthday dinner, but she wanted to make a good impression, well better than the last; after hurling on the man.

Having finally settled on a tie for Mr. Scott, Haley shifted the giftbag between hands, as they walked together towards his house.

Nathan smiled down at her "Haley, will you relax?"

"I am relaxed. I am also ruining the gift with palm sweat. Here, you hold it" Haley said, handing him the purple and yellow bag.

"Does that mean I can pass it off as mine?"

"You could, but the card will say you are a liar"

"Alright, fair enough" he smiled "come on, they will like you"

Haley gave him a look, and he shrugged "okay, maybe not my dad, but my mum likes you and Keith will be there too, plus grandma is not bad"

"Okay" she nodded, feeling less nervous "you and Keith there, this could be fine"

He kissed her lips and Haley's whole body tingled.

"Let's do this" he said, opening the front door to his house and walking inside, Haley followed "Grandpa, grandma, this is Haley" he introduced his girlfriend.

When Royal Scott, stood up to greet Haley, she was baffled "oh, Haley, nice to meet you" he said.

Her big smile was that of realization, bafflement, and amusement, she dragged out a long "Hi!" shaking his hand "nice to meet you, too"

He gave her a pointed look/nod, smiling a little, as if to tell her it would be their little secret they had met earlier. Haley stood there a little awkwardly, recalling just a few hours ago, when the old man had come to the café, asking about Karen and Lucas, this was Nathan's grandfather, Dan Scott's father, and he was obviously in contact with Karen.

"Well, Nathan, you are looking more and more like your old man. We all know where he gets his good looks, don't we?" said the grandfather, pulling the chair by his side, for Haley "come on in. You sit right here, next to me, honey"

"Thank you" responded Haley, sitting down with a polite smile, she couldn't help but feel that this gesture was an attempt from Royal to silence her about what she had seen in the café earlier. At least, Nathan was on the other side of her.

The doorbell rang, and Nathan's grandma opened the door "I will get it" then laughed when coach Durham walked in, greeting him with a big hug.

"Oh, my goodness, Whitey!" exclaimed Royal.

"Hey there, everybody, sorry I am late" greeted the coach with a big smile.

Nathan looked at Haley with a defeated smile "glad you came?"

Haley nodded, smiling happily at him, either as an attempt to cheer him up, or because her boyfriend had asked her to meet his family, and this was a big deal and something she hadn't done before, Haley wasn't sure, but she knew that she wanted to fight this war, alongside Nathan, she took his hand in hers and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

Grandma May was a much better cook than Deb was, having tried a couple of her dishes during her tutoring session with Nathan, Haley realized that Deb Scott couldn't cook if her life depended on it.

"Well, Nathan, how did you meet your friend?" asked May.

"Haley is my girlfriend, grandma" Nathan stated proudly, and a blush crept Haley's cheek "I asked her to be my tutor and it just happened"

"I thought you were dating that other girl, Penny" his grandpa stated, between bites.

"Peyton" Nathan sighed, glancing quickly at Haley, who was chewing her food silently "No, we broke up"

"Well, I am very glad you ended up with such a nice girl instead" smiled his grandma.

"Thank…"

"Actually" Haley interrupted "Peyton is really amazing, she was a great girlfriend. Maybe you shouldn't compare."

The family froze, staring at her, and after a little bit of silence, Nathan nodded "I agree"

Royal changed the subject "So, how is the team doing this year, Whitey?"

"Oh, we are still undefeated actually" Dan responded instead, ignoring the disappointed glares from Whitey and Deb "Dad, are you still rooting for magic these days?"

"Please" said a fed-up May "no talk of sports, until, after dinner, okay"

"Good idea mom, sorry"

Dan did his best to pull off an innocent face.

Nathan, however didn't have time to feel relief; he wasn't very excited about telling his grandfather that he quit the team, and the old man wasn't letting the subject go "so, Nathan, what are you averaging these days? You know your dad had twenty-seven and a half per game, you beat that yet?"

His grandma tried coming to his aid "Royal, we just said…"

"I am asking the boy a question, May"

May huffed a laugh in exasperation.

"Well, maybe you should ask the old man" Nathan cleverly avoided the subject, and Dan looked as if he were about to chug his liquor glass at him, which amused Whitey greatly.

"Uhh, twenty-four points per game, I think, isn't it?"

To say Deb was pissed off, would be an understatement, she was very glad to get a divorce from Danny, but her son would still be entrapped in the constant pressure he puts on him, Dan would never stop it, even after he collapsed, she had almost lost her little boy to drugs because of what his father does to him, because of a stupid game, she has decided then that she would do whatever it takes to keep her baby safe.

"So, twenty-four a game, huh? You know you are gonna have to get that up, if you are gonna beat the old man" continued Royal, and Haley took a long sip of water, trying hard not to retort "yeah, your dad's star would have risen through the roof if it wasn't for that damn knee of his. How are your knees?"

Haley had to bite back a laugh, especially when she looked Nathan in the eyes, and he replied "no worries"

"Oh, he has got great knees" Haley casually stated, earning a laugh from a few around from the table.

Grandpa Royal continued with the onslaught though "uh huh, of course Danny takes after his old man, never let adversity stop him. Too bad Keith takes after his mother's side of the family."

"Lucky for him" said May.

"I'd drink to that, but I have to get a refill" stated Keith.

"Well, I should see about the cake."

Tutor girl interrupted, finding a great opportunity to get up before she did something as hasty as mashing the food into Royal's face, though she wasn't sure she would be able to resist with Dan's birthday cake, "I will go do that, Mrs. Scott." Relieving her boyfriend from this dinner, she looked at Nathan and offered "want to come help?"

Nathan felt like he had been granted parole, jumping up a little too excitedly "yeah, yeah, the cake, right", when they were out of sight, and into the kitchen he spoke "I warned you, it was gonna be intense"

"Oh, insane is more like it"

"You know, there is a door right there, we could sneak out, nobody would even notice"

"Mmm, tempting" Haley hesitated, trying to find the right words to tell Nathan of what had happened earlier "um, so how often do your grandparents come into town?"

"Couple times a year, why? "as soon as Nathan as asked, he was met with Haley's facial expression #28 "Haley, you have got that look"

"What look?" inquired Haley.

"The look you get when you wanna tell me something, but you don't really wanna tell me" he teased.

"No, I don't. And you shouldn't know that look yet" Haley lightheartedly scolded.

"What is it?" he raised his eyebrows, pushing on.

She cautiously peeked a look behind her back, then whispered "your grandfather came by the café, and he asked for Karen."

"He did?" Nathan frowned.

"Yeah. I just kind of got the feeling like they have been keeping in touch."

He scoffed "does Lucas know?"

"No. They have never even met, but your grandfather asked about him."

"That doesn't make any sense. My grandpa acts as if dad is second coming, why would he visit Karen?"

"I don't know, I don't wanna start anything, I am just telling you"

"You know what? My family is so screwed up, nothing would make a difference right now" he reassured "don't worry about it"

Haley looked at him concerned "you okay?"

"Yeah" he shrugged, then looked up with seductive eyes, moving closer "so, I have great knees"

"Shut up" Haley lightly slapped him, pulling him into a quick kiss. Gasping, when Nathan moved his hand down, softly caressing her knees, lifting her leg, then pulling her up in his arms all together, deepening the kiss. Losing themselves in each other, Nathan's family problems seemed incredibly far away.

Reluctantly, Haley had to break free, gasping for breath "Nathan, someone could walk in on us"

He wouldn't let go, planting kiss on her jawline "let them" he moaned.

"Nathan" she giggled, putting hands on his shoulder, halfheartedly pulling away "I need to get into your family's good grace, I even wore my church skirt, let's not get caught making out over your kitchen counter. Now, get that cake and I will get the silverware and plates"

This was the first time Haley has ever heard the "happy birthday" song sung to the tune of the "funeral march", afterwards, Dan blew out his candles and everyone politely clapped.

"So, Nate how is your game this year?"

"Here we go again"

"Just cover your ears, May. I just wanna know how my grandson is doing on the team"

"I already told you, dad"

"No, you didn't, you didn't tell me jack, and every time I mention it, you change the damn subject" Royal was getting frustrated "now would someone around here tell me what is going on? Nathan, Whitey… anybody?"

"Nathan" Whitey said slowly "I think you better take this one"

A storm was about to break out, Nathan reluctantly admitted "I quit the team, alright"

"You quit the… what do you mean you quit the team?" Royal's tone harshened.

"He didn't quit the team, dad. He is just taking some time off" Dan tried, and at that Nathan tried to keep his anger at bay, but before he could respond, Deb spoke up.

"No, he is not. Please stop lying, Dan"

Dan glared at his wife, the intense look was full of begging though; trying to get her to shut up.

Royal's anger was still targeted at his grandson "were you ever going to tell me this? That's a hell of a thing to keep to yourself."

"Yeah, you are one to talk" Nathan retorted.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I know you visit Karen at the café, alright. What's that about?"

Haley couldn't believe he blatantly exposed what she had told him, softly reprimanding "Nathan…"

"That is none of your damn business" Royal angrily stated, looking at Haley "I guess somebody has got a big mouth"

Nathan's blood boiled at Royal's attack on Haley "Shut up, grandpa"

"Don't you talk to me like that!" yelled Royal, and Nathan's eyes widened in fury.

"Back off Royal" Deb defended her son, like a lioness would defend her cub "I have had enough of your crap. Nathan is not the problem."

"Would someone please tell me what is going on?" May asked, taken aback and hesitant, Whitey put a comforting hand on hers.

Feeling everything come up, Deb's anger and frustration manifested in words "Dan has been riding Nathan for six years about that damn game."

"Deb, stop" warned Dan.

She ignored her husband, holding back tears of resentment and motherly love "riding him so hard, that Nathan took drugs, so he could measure up"

"Drugs?!" shouted Royal, and Nathan looked down; ashamed.

"Until he had to be rushed to the hospital." Deb was half blaming herself for every time she had left her baby with his dad, times she took the easy way out instead of protecting him from the world's pain as a mother does "he could have died, because of this insane pressure to put a ball through a hoop. But none of that is my son's fault, Royal. It's your son's"

May was shocked and incredibly disappointed "Danny, you of all people. How dare you?! You know how much you hated it when your daddy bullied you to be better"

"I never bullied him" Rebuked Royal.

The old woman ignored him, looking at her son "and when you wanted a way out, I gave you one. All these years, I protected you, I lied for you, and now you are doing the same thing to your son" Nathan looked between them, confused.

"What lie? What are you talking about?" Royal insisted.

"In college, his knee injury, it wasn't permanent. Danny quit and I helped him." May's head raised high in defiance, against her husband's loathing, and the looks of bewilderment on everyone's face, and Haley felt new found respect for the women on the table.

She also must have felt Nathan's pain, because as soon as that first wave of dull ache hit his insides, Haley put her hand on his leg, softly patting it, the touch instantly making him better, though he was still tense.

"What do you mean he quit?" asked Royal.

"It's not like that, dad"

"Oh, stop it, Dan!" May was having a stare-off with Royal "it's time the truth came out"

"Would someone tell me what in the hell is going on here?!"

"You were on the road when Danny hurt his knee" explained May "so we lied"

Royal accusatory looked at his son "you told me, it was a degenerative knee condition"

"It was dad" defended Dan.

But his father wouldn't listen, and went on "you looked me in the eye, and you told me that" staring his son down

"Don't you see Royal, he was never going to be the star that you wanted him to be. You just couldn't see that. The boy had two choices, to fail in front of you, or to quit, either way he lost"

Nathan rubbed his aching head, his grandmother's words felt directed at him. One day, he would be sitting in the exact same spot as his father, carrying the failures of his life, the pressure he went through, and the disappointment when Dan Scott sits in Royal's place. His father had lied to him, all those years, the myth of Dan Scott has been broken, and in its place stood a shell of a man, riding his son to be something he never was.

"So, you just quit, without being man enough to own up to it" snarled Royal.

"There is more to the story, dad. You don't know the whole story"

But Royal angrily spat "I had enough" and threw his tablecloth away, standing up and storming off.

Staying in that house was suffocating Nathan, he couldn't even comprehend what he was feeling at that moment "me too", standing up with an edge in his voice "come on, Haley, I will take you home"

"Thanks for dinner" she whispered politely, getting up with her boyfriend.

Whitey followed them, and Haley noted that this was the most catastrophic birthday party she has ever been to, including the one where Taylor tricked her into eating ten whole hot peppers, at least no one ended up at the hospital at Dan's party though.

She linked her hand into Nathan's, looking up at his melancholic face with sympathy. _Before you criticize someone, walk a mile in their shoes._ She had never realized how true that quote was until she met Nathan's family, they were messed up, each in their own specific way, but for Nathan to grow up in that environment; if she could've returned in time, she would immediately run up to herself from two months ago and tell her to knock some sense into Lucas, into Deb, into anyone who could be family to her boyfriend.

For now, she will be his family, everything he needs.

 **So there it is, I have decided that I will not plan them per one episode, instead I will end the chapter when I feel it should end, that way I will probably get more done quicker. Please leave a review, always check out my other fanfiction Lab Rats (it's is Naley as well) and it's waiting for you.**


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